July 28 (Reuters) - Apple's market capitalization briefly surpassed $5 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, making it only the second company ever to achieve that milestone after Nvidia NVDA.O.
Its shares AAPL.O were last up 0.2% at $337.7, giving it a market capitalization of $4.96 trillion. At a session high of $342.89, Apple's market value stood at $5.036 trillion.
The iPhone maker became the most valuable company in the world earlier this month, overtaking chip giant Nvidia NVDA.O - which had been at the top since June 2025 and was the first company ever to breach the $5 trillion threshold.
Rally, leasing program and earnings ahead
For Apple, this year's rally has been driven as much by strong demand for its products as its decision to sit out the AI spending race that is sapping cash flows at Big Tech rivals.
The consumer electronics giant struggled to develop in-house AI models and has instead relied on Google's technology to power new services such as a revamped Siri, avoiding the hefty infrastructure costs that have left Big Tech investors wary of the payoff from surging data-center investments.
Its decision to hold iPhone prices steady last month when it unveiled increases for MacBooks and iPads has also bolstered demand as buyers scooped up the company's flagship device ahead of expected price hikes later this year, analysts have said.
To aid demand, Apple on Tuesday also launched a device leasing program in the U.S. through payments firm Klarna KLAR.N, under which monthly payments start at $17.99 for an iPhone, $11.99 for an Apple Watch or iPad and $24.99 for a Mac.
"Apple has resisted the AI spending race, betting that customer experience - not infrastructure investment - will ultimately determine the winners," said Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester.
"The new leasing program is a clever response: it doesn't reduce the price of an iPhone, but it changes how consumers perceive the cost by replacing sticker shock with a predictable monthly payment."
Including session gains, Apple stock has jumped 24% so far this year, widely outperforming the other six of the "Magnificent 7" cohort of U.S. technology stocks.
Apple is set to report its third-quarter earnings after the market close on Thursday, with analysts expecting a more than 15% jump in quarterly revenue from a year earlier.
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