Apple is the first U.S. company to achieve a $700 billion market valuation. The milestone sparked a 2 percent share spike for the iPhone maker, with shares hitting $122.02 by market close on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Apple CEO Tim Cook attributes the record-setting achievement to the company's stellar smartphone franchise and its sales strategy in China.
In comparison, Microsoft has a valuation of $349 billion and Google sits at $365 billion, according to a published report. Apple, just four years ago, was valued at a little more than $300 billion.
Cook spent Tuesday participating in the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference and his comments ranged from the company's impending Apple Watch wearable to future growth opportunities in China.
"We're not focused on the numbers. We're focused on the things that produce the numbers," Cook said, adding in clear homage to former CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs, "We don't believe in laws like the law of large numbers. Steve ingrained in us that putting limits on your thinking is never good."
One report notes Apple could be valued at $761.3 billion by mid-2017 as it's on a path to reach $130.70 a share.
The market valuation comes on the heels of rumors Apple is developing its own search service, potentially looking to take on Google in what's already a competitive market.
Just last week a report revealed Apple is looking to hire an engineering project manager for what the job listing called Apple Search.
As Tech Times reported on Monday, one industry watcher believes it would make perfect business sense given Apple's personal assistant voice technology, Siri, is becoming a full-fledged feature in consumer search. Apple's continual enhancement of Siri illustrates Apple's intentions.
"As Siri gets better, and more people interact with their smartphones via voice, Apple sees an opportunity to leverage its control of this gateway into the fat revenue streams behind it," Cesar Brea, author of Marketing and Sales Analytics and founder of Force Five Partners, told Tech Times.
Brea, however, does not expect Apple to dethrone Google when it comes to search any time in the near future, stating such a scenario would be as realistic as Google dethroning Apple as a smartphone leader.
During the Tuesday conference, Cook announced Apple will build a 1,300-acre solar farm, expected to cost $848 million, in Monterey County in California. The solar farm, which will power Apple's headquarters, and all Apple stores, offices and its data center, is being built in partnership with First Solar.
Cook claims the farm will provide "significant energy cost savings."
