Market Cap Hits $21.8T, 16 Alibabas, Nears Germany's GDP

Apple's Market Value Rises Again.

Recently, Apple's stock price broke through $198.11, with a total market value reaching $3.08 trillion, equivalent to 21.8 trillion yuan in RMB, setting a new record for market value.

What is the concept of a company worth over 3 trillion US dollars?

The well-known domestic internet giant Alibaba currently has a market value of about $189.5 billion, and Apple is now equivalent to 16 Alibabas.

In the French stock market, the total market value of all listed companies is only close to $3.2 trillion, and Apple's market value is equivalent to the total market value of the French stock market.

If we look at GDP, Germany's GDP for the first three quarters of this year was only $3.3 trillion. Calling Apple "rich enough to rival a nation" is no joke.

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Since the beginning of this year, Apple's stock price has started another round of increases, with a total increase of up to 50%, and the market value has increased by more than $1.1 trillion.

Because of this, Apple has become the world's first publicly traded company to break through the $3 trillion market value threshold.

Isn't it said that this year's iPhone 15 series is lukewarm and sales are weak? Why do investors still have confidence in Apple?

Why is Apple so strong?The World's Most Profitable Company

When it comes to Apple's market value, which is often described as "rich enough to rival a nation," many might think there's a lot of fluff involved, with rapid growth followed by just as rapid declines, and the possibility of billions evaporating in a day. While this observation is indeed accurate, we cannot deny that Apple's ability to become the world's most valuable company is fundamentally due to its exceptional financial performance.

In other words, Apple is not only the world's most valuable company but also almost the most profitable.

Looking at Apple's financial statements, the company reported a net profit of $99.8 billion in the fiscal year of 2022 and $96.9 billion in the fiscal year of 2023, earning nearly $100 billion annually. Who else can match that?

The world's most profitable bank, our ICBC Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, "only" made 360 billion last year, which is equivalent to half of Apple's profit.

As for other mobile phone manufacturers and various other industries, it goes without saying that the gap is quite evident when compared to Apple.

Of course, the reason we say Apple is "almost" the world's most profitable company is primarily because there is an unconventional "tycoon"—Saudi Aramco.

They are literally counting money while sitting on a mountain of oil. Last year, they made a net profit of $161 billion, surpassing Apple and becoming the first company in the world to break through the trillion-yuan net profit mark.

But even with Saudi Aramco, which seems to have the heavens feeding them, they have been competing with Apple in recent years, taking turns at being number one.In the final analysis, behind Apple's high market value lies its extremely strong profitability.

Is China Apple's most profitable market?

For a long time, many people have believed that China is Apple's largest market, with tens of millions of "Apple fans" in China supporting Apple's huge revenue and pushing Apple to the top of the world.

However, in fact, the Chinese market is Apple's third-largest global market, following the Americas and Europe.

Specifically, in fiscal year 2023, Apple achieved $383.3 billion in revenue, with the Americas region accounting for 36%, ranking first, the European region accounting for 24.6%, following closely, and the Greater China market accounting for 18.9%, ranking third.

So, to be honest, there may not be as many "Apple fans" in China as in the United States, especially as domestic mobile phones gradually rise, and the call for domestic support from the people is getting higher and higher, which also has a certain impact on Apple.

Of course, we cannot deny that the Chinese market is crucial for Apple, which can be seen from the attitude of Apple CEO Cook.

At the beginning of this year, Cook was one of the first foreign entrepreneurs to visit China, and after the release of the iPhone 15 series, Cook came to China again after only half a year.

At that time, Cook appeared in Chengdu Taikoo Li, holding an Apple mobile phone to take photos of Anshun Corridor Bridge, watching game performance competitions outside the Apple flagship store, and experiencing courses with children, making a full gesture.

Not only that, but Cook later announced an additional donation of 25 million yuan to support the development of rural communities in China, which is enough to show the importance of the Chinese market.Apple's Hidden Worries

It is likely common knowledge that Chinese enterprises have played a significant role in the manufacturing of iPhones, as more than half of the "Apple ecosystem" supply chain originates from our Chinese companies.

However, for reasons that are well-known, Apple has been striving in recent years to reduce its reliance on China, attempting to shift its industrial chain to India and Southeast Asia.

Take Foxconn, for example, which, despite facing numerous setbacks in India, is still busy transferring its production capacity in order to secure a share of Apple's business, using India as a new foothold.

The key issue lies in the fact that, although Apple has been working towards "de-China-ization," similar to Foxconn's experience, this process has not been smooth, and it appears to be a long way off from being realized.

On the other hand, while Apple's products are bestsellers in China, this does not mean there are no challenges.

During this year's visit to China by Tim Cook, when he was taking a group photo with customers at the Sanlitun Apple Store, someone held up Xiaomi's latest flagship smartphone right in front of Cook.

Although this photo has been widely circulated mainly because of its "smiling on the surface, but cursing inside" connotation, it also indirectly indicates that Apple's market share in China is not unassailable.

Whether it's Huawei, which is "far ahead," or Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO, and others, they are all eyeing Apple with envy, continuously launching assaults on the high-end market, and have achieved certain results.

This may also be the deep reason why Cook visited China twice this year, frequently showing friendliness towards China.In conclusion: The unparalleled profitability and leading performance have made Apple the company with the highest market value in the world.

Of course, even Apple has its own anxieties and concerns behind the scenes. How to maintain its own basic position and maintain its advantages in the Chinese market is a question that Cook needs to ponder carefully.