Apple (AAPL) is celebrating its 50th anniversary on April 1.
The leading technology company was formed on this date in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
Over the last five decades, Apple has launched a slew of game changing products, including the Macintosh computer in 1984, the iPod in 2001, and the iPhone in 2007.
The iPhone is widely regarded as one of the most important inventions in modern history. The introduction of a touch screen smartphone was revolutionary.
With the iPhone, people went from basic flip phones to gaining access to texting, calling, searching the internet, and listening to music all in one hand-held device.
Today, iPhone sales comprise more than half of Apple’s annual revenue. The company made $416.2 billion U.S. in revenue in 2025, with $209.6 billion U.S. of that came from the iPhone.
Apple’s most recent consumer electronics device has been the Apple Watch, launched in 2015.
Analysts say Apple’s genius is that each of its devices integrates with another, incentivizing consumers to buy more than one Apple product and making the company’s ecosystem extremely sticky.
A $1,000 U.S. investment in Apple’s stock when the company went public in 1980 would be worth $2.6 million U.S. today, according to market data.
Apple was the first U.S. company to hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion U.S. in 2018, $2 trillion U.S. in 2020, and $3 trillion U.S. in 2023.
Currently, Apple has a market cap of $3.7 trillion U.S. and is the second largest publicly traded company in the world after Nvidia (NVDA).
AAPL stock has gained 14% over the past 12 months to trade at $253.79 U.S. per share.
