Apple is almost a $1 trillion company, but watch out for Amazon

REUTERS - Apple is on the verge of becoming the first $1 trillion publicly listed U.S. company, but even if it gets there, it could soon be overtaken as Amazon.com surges from behind.

Started in the garage of co-founder Steve Jobs in 1976, the iPhone maker's annual revenue has ballooned to $229 billion, greater than the gross domestic product of countries including Portugal and New Zealand.

Apple's market capitalisation on Thursday (May 10) topped a record $934 billion, following its unveiling last week of a $100 billion buyback budget and news that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway dramatically increased its stake in the company.

With a 12% rally since its quarterly report last Tuesday (May 08), the Cupertino, California company is just 8% short of hitting the $1 trillion valuation mark.

Pointing to Apple's recent 31% jump in service revenue, including music streaming and online storage, CFRA analyst Angelo Zino on Wednesday (May 09) upped his target price for the stock from $195 to $210, which would put Apple's market capitalisation at $1.03 trillion.

But Apple is in danger of being beaten to the $1 trillion mark, or passed soon after by Amazon.com, the second largest listed U.S. company by market value, at $780 billion.