US chipmaker Nvidia has joined the exclusive club of companies with a market capitalization surpassing $1 trillion, making it the ninth company globally to achieve this significant milestone.
Contrary to popular belief, neither tech giant Apple nor Elon Musk’s Tesla was the first company to reach the remarkable $1 trillion milestone. Curiously enough, the honor of being the world’s first trillion-dollar company goes to another contender altogether.
Sixteen years ago, in 2007, the prestigious title of being the world’s first company to achieve a market value of $1 trillion was claimed by the Chinese oil giant PetroChina.
PetroChina’s Path to Becoming the World’s First Trillion-Dollar Market Cap Company
In November 2007, PetroChina made history as the world’s first trillion-dollar market cap company, benefiting from global oil and gas demand and China’s booming economy.
Its successful IPO raised 66.8 billion yuan ($8.94 billion). The stock surged on its first trading day, nearly tripling in value. This achievement cemented China’s market dominance, with five Chinese companies among the world’s top 10.
While PetroChina has seen recent growth, its long-term stock performance has declined by 3.5% over five years and 80% since its IPO.
Achievers of the $1 Trillion Market Cap Club: Companies that Reached Historic Milestones
List of Nine Companies and Their Respective Years of Reaching $1 Trillion Market Cap:
1. PetroChina – 2007
2. Apple – 2018
3. Saudi Aramco – 2019
4. Alphabet (Google) – 2020
5. Meta – 2021
6. Microsoft – 2019
7. Tesla-2021
8. Amazon-2018
9. Nvidia – 2023
