Apple briefly surpassed a $5 trillion market capitalization on July 28, 2026, reaching an intraday high of $5.036 trillion before retreating to close at about $4.96 trillion that day [1, 2, 3, 4]. Its share price hit a peak of $342.89 during the session [1, 2, 3, 4]. This milestone makes Apple the second company ever to reach a $5 trillion valuation, following Nvidia which first surpassed the mark in October 2025 [1, 2, 3, 4].
Earlier in July, Apple overtook Nvidia to become the most valuable publicly traded company [1, 3]. Apple’s stock has risen roughly 24-25% year-to-date in 2026, outperforming Nvidia and other peers [1, 3]. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s market value, which peaked at about $5.7 trillion in May 2026, has declined by around $1 trillion since then [2].
Apple has kept its AI and capital expenditure investments modest compared to other Big Tech firms, relying on Google’s AI technology for new services rather than heavy in-house spending. Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, said, "Apple has resisted the AI spending race, betting that customer experience — not infrastructure investment — will ultimately determine the winners" [1].
On the same day Apple hit the $5 trillion intraday peak, it launched a US device leasing program with monthly payments starting at $17.99 for iPhones [1, 3]. Chatterjee called the leasing program "a clever response: it doesn't reduce the price of an iPhone, but it changes how consumers perceive the cost by replacing sticker shock with a predictable monthly payment" [1].
Apple raised prices on MacBooks and iPads in June 2026 while keeping iPhone prices steady, which helped boost demand for iPhones [1, 3]. The company is scheduled to report Q3 2026 earnings after market close on July 30, with analysts expecting revenue growth of more than 15% year-over-year [1, 3].
CEO Tim Cook will step down following the July 30 earnings call. John Ternus is set to become Apple’s new CEO on September 1, 2026 [3].
