Apple Becomes First U.S. Company to Hit $1.5 Trillion in Market Value

After a strong performance yesterday that pushed Apple's stock price to another record high, shares are up over two percent again today. With today's boost, Apple's market capitalization has surpassed $1.5 trillion, making it the first U.S. company to reach that mark.

Market capitalization is simply the share price multiplied by the number of outstanding shares of the company's stock, yielding the company's overall stock market value. At a current price of around $352 per share and with roughly 4.3 billion shares outstanding, Apple's market capitalization is now at around $1.53 trillion.

Apple's total share count has been declining in recent years as the company has been aggressively buying back stock, which helps to increase the value of the remaining shares on the market. That decrease in share count is, however, accounted for in market capitalization calculations.

After hitting an all-time high share price in late January, Apple's stock slid along with the rest of the market amid the global health crisis, with Apple's share price falling 35% from its peak by late March. A strong and steady recovery brought Apple back up to a fresh all-time high last Friday, and it has continued to gain in recent days.