Who will become the first US$5 trillion company?

US$5 trillion is a colossal figure – one that most of us will likely never come across. But for a handful of global conglomerates, reaching that phenomenal milestone is just a matter of time.

Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla are all nudging closer to the twinkling valuation, but it could be Apple who gets there first.

A study by XTB, a leading European foreign exchange brokerage, has predicted which of the world’s largest companies could be the first to reach US$5 trillion and when.

According to the research, it’s tipped that Apple will cross the multitrillion-dollar milestone by 2028, making it the first business across the line.

Earlier this year the company responsible for putting a computer in our pockets (thanks to the iPhone) reached a market capitalisation of US$3 trillion, making it the first company to do so. While it held the value for a brief period on 3 January 2022, the history-making achievement was a result of Apple’s stock price rising more than 40 per cent in 2021. Although impressive, the Silicon Valley company is no stranger to firsts – it was the first company to hit the US$1 trillion and US$2 trillion milestones.

By 2035, Microsoft and Amazon are projected to hit the US$5 trillion mark, followed by Tesla and Nvidia by 2066 – almost four decades after Apple. It’s predicted Apple will be worth an eye-watering US$19.3 trillion by the time Tesla and Nvidia make it to the US$5 trillion club.

Through compiling a list of the world’s top 100 largest companies in 2021, XTB gathered the data for each company from 2010 to 2021 to determine the growth rates.

Additionally, TSMC, Tencent Holdings and UnitedHealth Group are all expected to hit US$5 trillion before the turn of the century.

However, if any of the companies record an unprecedented leap in growth, which is always possible in an ever-changing landscape, there could be a reshuffle.

"While this forecast is simply an estimate and doesn’t account for potential market fluctuations, if growth remains consistent, it’s clear that some of the biggest companies in the world might be reaching the US$5 trillion mark a lot sooner than some of us might have expected," XTB states.

Despite incredible global popularity, companies including Starbucks, McDonald’s and Netflix aren’t expected to make the US$5 trillion mark before 2100, according to the study.

Instead, it’s predicted Netflix will reach US$1 trillion by 2041. McDonald’s is also tipped to join the trillion-dollar club by 2074 – a huge 52 years from now.

Some popular companies including Alibaba, PayPal, Meta, Alphabet and Saudi Aramco were not included on the list due to unavailable data, yet they are all significant players across the global market.

While the predictions are intriguing, many won’t come to fruition for decades. And in the world of technology, that’s a considerable amount of time which lends itself to a realm of influential factors – many we are yet to experience or even understand. Just think, 20 years ago the iPhone didn’t even exist.

"So, what does this all mean for the future world of stocks and trading?" XTB stated. "This forecast is just an estimation, and plenty could happen in the coming decades that could reshape the market world."