It’s fair to say that three trillion dollars is a somewhat unfathomable number, particularly when it comes to money.
Given there are only five companies valued above one trillion dollars – that’s a one followed by 12 zeros – to say the three trillion club is an exclusive one is an understatement.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the only company in history to hold this title, having surpassed the US$3 trillion market capitalisation milestone briefly in January, before finally closing a day of trading above the mark in late June.
To put this into context, if Apple were put into liquidation at the time and its value split evenly between Earth’s eight billion inhabitants, each would receive around US$375.
So, given Apple’s brief stint in the unknown US$3 trillion territory is over for now – with the company having shed over US$200 billion since – the vital question remains: Who’s next?
Naturally, the list of companies with market caps of over two trillion dollars is, again, very short.
Apple, of course, tops the list, followed by tech giant peer Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a market cap of US$2.45 trillion.
Saudi Aramco then sits as the third and final constituent in the two trillion club, being valued at US$2.36 trillion.
Though the prospect of either company reaching three trillion is far from a given, each has enjoyed hefty share price gains so far this year.
Microsoft has risen near-40% since the beginning of the year, though this does follow losses of 29% last year on the back of a worsening outlook for tech stocks.
Saudi Aramco – of which just 2% is not in the hands of the country's government or sovereign funds – has risen almost 13% since December meanwhile, after remaining broadly flat in 2022.
So what next?
Wedbush analysts tipped Apple could even grow to be worth US$4 trillion by 2025, as the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) begins to take hold.
“[This] will have thousands of use cases across fitness, health, sports and movies via Apple and partner content,” the investment firm added.
However, since its stint in the three trillion-dollar zone, Apple’s shares have receded on the back of falling quarterly revenues and underwhelming hardware sales.
For Microsoft, Wedbush analysts also tipped positive sentiment around its AI development could be marked with share price gains.
Through a raised price target of US$400, Wedbush anticipates shares in Microsoft could rise by 22% over the course of the year - in which case the company would boast a market cap of US$2.98 trillion dollars.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s Derren Nathan agreed, pointing to Microsoft’s “exceptional” track record of growth.
“There could be some tough quarters ahead, but given it’s a beneficiary of any upswing in AI-driven hype, it could conceivably get there,” he said.
Over in Saudi Arabia, Aramco itself forecast oil prices will soon begin to recover losses seen since 2022’s highs, a move which would indeed benefit the world’s largest oil firm.
However, on the back of faltering second-quarter profits, Nathan ruled Aramco was “not the obvious candidate” to reach the US$3 trillion milestone next.
“[It is] already on quite a punchy valuation,” he said, “and although oil is riding higher than it has been for a while, it could falter again.”