Record Breaker! Apple's Market Cap Surpasses $5 Trillion for the First Time

Apple (AAPL-US) shares rose 1% during early trading on Tuesday, March 28, officially surpassing a $5 trillion market capitalization. On the same day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.01% and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%, highlighting Apple's outperformance.

Apple's stock has shown strong momentum since late June, climbing from around $274 to achieve over a 20% gain in the past month alone—far exceeding the S&P 500's modest 0.8% rise during the same period.

On March 28, Apple launched a new device leasing program in the U.S. called 'Apple Upgrade,' in partnership with buy-now-pay-later provider Klarna (KLAR-US). The program allows consumers to lease an iPhone starting at $17.99 per month.

For example, a 256GB iPhone 17 Pro, priced at $1,099, would cost $31.99 per month under a 24-month plan, or $45.99 per month for a 12-month plan.

The new program also covers Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac devices, replacing the existing iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments plans.