--- description: The number has doubled since Tim Cook took over as CEO from Steve Jobs three years ago title: Apple’s Market Cap Just Hit $700 Billion for the First Time image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt687d73f4cad03e9e/69876ae62dce01e0cc9dc014/apple-mac.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Apple’s Market Cap Just Hit $700 Billion for the First Time ## Video: Apple Pay: 16 Brands Apple Needs to Win Over [Watch (HLS stream): Apple Pay: 16 Brands Apple Needs to Win Over](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7Tq7HFYe.m3u8) (1:50)  _Published 2014-10-30. Apple Pay: 16 Brands Apple Needs to Win Over_ by [Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr.](/author/fortune/) ## Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2014 4:49 PM CUT  People attend the Apple keynote at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts at De Anza College on Sept. 9, 2014 in Cupertino, Calif. People attend the Apple keynote at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts at De Anza College on Sept. 9, 2014 in Cupertino, Calif.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr.](/author/fortune/) ## Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2014 4:49 PM CUT Apple hit a major symbolic milestone Tuesday morning as its market capitalization topped $700 billion for the first time. The tech giant’s market cap has doubled since Tim Cook took over as CEO three years ago when Steve Jobs stepped down from the role. The company’s stock has hit several new record highs lately on the heels of September’s wildly successful [launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus](http://fortune.com/2014/09/09/apple-iphone-6-launch/ "undefined"). Apple shares have jumped by 21% since the company unveiled the new smartphones at a product event that also heralded the arrival of the much-hyped [Apple Watch](http://fortune.com/2014/09/09/apple-watch-product-launch/ "undefined") and the new [Apple Pay](http://fortune.com/2014/09/09/apple-announces-new-mobile-payments-system-apple-pay/ "undefined") mobile payments system. The Apple Pay service [became available](http://fortune.com/2014/10/12/apple-pay-is-coming-to-town/ "undefined") last month, while the Apple Watch will go on sale in 2015. But, the latest iterations of the iPhone have been driving up the company’s value since they went on sale in September and [posted a record opening weekend](http://fortune.com/2014/09/22/apple-smartphone-sales/ "undefined") by selling more than 10 million units. Apple is expected to keep selling those phones at a swift pace over the holiday season, with at least one analyst [forecasting 71.5 million iPhone shipments](http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/23/kgi-apple-to-sell-over-71m-iphones-in-holiday-quarter-followed-by-sub-50m-to-start-2015/ "undefined") in the fourth quarter. At this point, Apple’s market cap is higher than the gross domestic product of all but 19 of the world’s countries, coming just behind Saudi Arabia (GDP of $745 billion) and ahead of Switzerland ($650 billion), [according](http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?order=wbapi%5Fdata%5Fvalue%5F2013+wbapi%5Fdata%5Fvalue+wbapi%5Fdata%5Fvalue-last&sort=desc "undefined") to data compiled by the World Bank. [_This article originally appeared on Fortune.com_](http://fortune.com/2014/11/25/apple-700-billion/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3605098/apple-market-cap-700-billion-dollars/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3605098/apple-market-cap-700-billion-dollars/"},"headline":"Apple’s Market Cap Just Hit $700 Billion for the First Time","datePublished":"2014-11-25T16:49:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:47.024Z","description":"The number has doubled since Tim Cook took over as CEO from Steve Jobs three years ago","url":"https://time.com/3605098/apple-market-cap-700-billion-dollars/","keywords":["Companies","Tech","Economy","Apple","Earnings","stocks","Apple watch"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt687d73f4cad03e9e/69876ae62dce01e0cc9dc014/apple-mac.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr."}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt687d73f4cad03e9e/69876ae62dce01e0cc9dc014/apple-mac.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Unveils iPhone 6","caption":"Apple Unveils iPhone 6","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3605098/apple-market-cap-700-billion-dollars/","name":"Apple’s Market Cap Just Hit $700 Billion for the First Time"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Apple Pay: 16 Brands Apple Needs to Win Over","description":"Apple Pay: 16 Brands Apple Needs to Win Over","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7Tq7HFYe/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-30T15:25:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7Tq7HFYe.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3605098/apple-market-cap-700-billion-dollars/","duration":"PT1M50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3605098/apple-market-cap-700-billion-dollars/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```