Apple joined Nvidia in the $5 trillion market cap club on Wednesday, bucking a broader downbeat trend for the rest of the market.
Apple stock rose 0.5% to $342.96, a record closing high. That pushed it just over the $5 trillion line -- $5.005 trillion for those keeping score -- making it the second most valuable company in the U.S., behind Nvidia, which has a market cap of $5.3 trillion.
Apple and Nvidia are the only two companies to close above $5 trillion.
The iPhone maker had hit a $5 trillion market cap six times during regular trading hours, but had yet to officially close above the threshold until Wednesday.
This milestone came on an overall difficult day for the stock market, especially for tech, as the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.9%. Apple's move proves that the stock continues to be a safe haven for investors.
Fellow tech giants are spending massive amounts of capital to build out the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence, which is eating at free cash flows. Meanwhile, Apple has taken a less heavy handed approach, spending far less than its megacap tech peers.
Shares are now up 26% this year, outperforming the S&P 500's 13% gain.
Investors are also seemingly confident in the company following the launch of several new products. The upcoming launch of the foldable iPhone will be a test to this confidence.
Apple announced the launch of the iPhone Duo last month, which is the company's first ever foldable smartphone, and will have a big role in the company's ability to stay above $5 trillion.
The Duo will be available for preorder on Friday and will be officially released on Oct. 23. It's an incredibly important launch for Apple. Not only does the Duo introduce the biggest change to an iPhone form factor ever, it's also the most expensive iPhone ever launched, starting at $1,999.
Data show that demand for the iPhone 18 Pro -- which became available last month -- could be lacking. iPhone demand is crucial to the company as most of its revenue comes from selling smartphones.
Wall Street is surely hoping that this is because consumers are waiting to upgrade their phones to the more expensive Duo. The stock, and this milestone market cap, could be at risk if that's not the case.
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