January 4, 2022, is a historic day for Apple as it became the world’s first company to attain a $3 trillion market capitalization, which is calculated as the total value of its shares. To help you process that number, it’s $3,000,000,000,000 (12 zeros).

Apple achieved the milestone when its stock price climbed to $182.86, just 16 months after it crossed the $2 trillion market cap milestone. To add to the surprise, it was just three and a half years ago that Apple crossed the $1 trillion market cap milestone, a testament to its strong performance and growth. During the holiday season that just concluded, Apple sold over 40 million iPhone 13 units.

Although Apple’s share price dipped slightly after its watershed moment, it is around reportedly 20 percent ahead of Microsoft, the company with the second-highest market cap.

Despite the chip shortage that ensued, Apple coped with the surging demand for its products during the pandemic, resulting in a steady uptick in earnings. The transition to Apple Silicon can also be attributed to the company’s success. Revenue is expected to surpass the $118 billion mark this quarter, shattering its all-time quarterly high of $111.4 billion set a year ago.

Back when Apple clinched the $1 trillion landmark in 2018, CEO Tim Cook opined that “financial returns are simply the result of Apple’s innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values.” He also said that the stellar valuation was “not the most important measure of our success.”

In 2022, Apple will likely focus on growing further with several new products and updates to existing ones in the pipeline. Apple is expected to launch a mixed reality headset, second-generation AirPods Pro, and a ruggedized version of the Apple Watch. Updates to the MacBook Air and iPad Pro are also rumored to be on the cards.

To know about everything Apple has in store for 2022, check out our detailed post.