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A first in American history.

Today Apple did something that no other American company has done thus far. They became the first public company in American history to pass $1 trillion in total market cap. Over the past month it was a close race to see whether Amazon or Apple would be the first company to claim the prize, with Apple ultimately crossing the line first. Prior to Apple passing the $1 Trillion mark only one other company in the world PetroChina crossed the mark for a short time in 2007.

Apple hit the $1 trillion mark early this morning when its stock crossed $207.05 per share at 11:48am ET - Chaim Gartenberg

You may remember after Steve Jobs passed in 2011 some people were predicting that event was going to be the end of Apple as we knew it. It's fair to say that those predictions were very wrong. For reference Apple was just above the 300 million market cap mark when Steve Jobs passed in October of 2011. More than two thirds of Apple's growth has come after his death. Tim Cook the current CEO of Apple who took over after Jobs passing deserves a lot of credit for continuing to push Apple forward into the position they currently hold.

Tech Company vs. Luxury Brand

Listening to a podcast on the way home from work yesterday one of the host mentioned that Apple should no longer be viewed as a tech company and instead should be considered a luxury brand. Many people now are buying the iPhone as a way to fit in and show their current status in society. Similar to the same motivations behind buying expensive designer brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

I have to say I agree with the assessment above. When people are willing to pay $999 or more every year for the new iPhone model there is more motivation encouraging that decision than tech upgrades. Here is a list of prices for their top models in each product category:

Apple has done well selling their products as lifestyle items instead of traditional tech gadgets, which has clearly captured the hearts of many fans. I do not see them losing any of their dominance in the near future and in fact only growing stronger over time.