Opinion: Apple's next trillion won't come so easily

On Aug 19, Apple Inc became the first US company to top US$2 trillion (RM8.35 trillion). — Peter Foley/Bloomberg

Apple Inc has done it again. On Aug 19, just two years after becoming the first US company to boast a trillion-dollar market valuation, it became the first to top US$2 trillion (RM8.35 trillion). Getting to the next trillion may not be such a breeze.

With its shares up roughly 60% this year, Apple is among the Big Tech winners that have benefited from a "safety premium”. Investors have piled in to the iPhone maker’s shares as well as those of other technology darlings – including Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and Google parent Alphabet Inc – betting their business models, robust balance sheets and large cash balances would make them more resilient amid the economic fallout from the global Covid-19 pandemic.