Tim Cook-led Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock closed at a new all-time high last week to reclaim its $3 trillion market capitalization. While the current ban on Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Watch Series 9 has taken some sheen off the stock, Apple is currently exploring a workaround.
But did you know that Apple's market capitalization is higher than the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of 140 countries?
Apple's market capitalization stands at $3.066 trillion as of Dec. 19, 2023. The combined GDP of 140 countries, according to data from the World Bank in 2022, stood at $3.01 trillion.
If Apple were a country, its market capitalization would make it the seventh-largest country globally, behind only the USA, China, Japan, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom.
Essentially, Apple's market capitalization is higher than the GDP of France, Russia, Canada, and 200 other countries.
RankParticularsGDP/Market capitalization
1United States$25.46 trillion
2China$17.96 trillion
3Japan$4.23 trillion
4Germany$4.07 trillion
5India$3.39 trillion
6United Kingdom$3.07 trillion
7Apple$3.066 trillion*
Source: World Bank, GDP data as in 2022 | *Apple's market capitalization is as on Dec. 19, 2023.
Apple's stock has surged by over 57% in 2023 so far. However, almost all of the gains were made by the end of July, and the iPhone maker's shares have barely gained anything since then.
That said, Apple looks set to close the year above the $3 trillion market cap. It also looks comfortably ahead of rival Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), which has a market cap of $2.774 trillion.
Apple stock has also far outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq benchmark indices, beating them both handily.
If you had invested $1,000 in Apple at the beginning of 2023, you would now have $1,566.
Value of a $1,000 investment between Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 19, 2023.
On the other hand, the same investment in S&P 500 and Nasdaq would be worth $1,435 and $1,240, respectively.
At this pace, Apple looks set to close 2023 as the largest company in the world by market capitalization for the fifth year in a row.