Apple could become 1st US company worth $3 trillion

Apple's stock on Tuesday morning was hovering just below the threshold required to reach a market capitalization of $3 trillion, a milestone no publicly traded U.S. company has ever reached.

Shares for the iPhone maker hit an all-time high Monday during intraday trading before opening slightly lower Tuesday at $175.25 per share, roughly 4% shy of the $182.86 required to reach the historic mark.

The tech giant's stock has gained more than 30% in 2021 and skyrocketed by nearly 500% over the past five years.

Analyst Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, said in a note shared with ABC News that hitting the $3 trillion market cap would be "another watershed moment for Apple as the company continues to prove the doubters wrong with the renaissance of growth story playing out in Cupertino."

Supply shortages disrupting global iPhone production remain an issue for Apple, according to Ives, but he said he expects these to ease in early 2022.

Despite chip shortages and more, Ives said he's predicting Apple is on pace to sell "north of 40 million iPhones during the holiday season," driven in part by strong demand from China.

Rumors of an Apple electric car project also have investors optimistic for the tech giant's future.

The tech sector has led the U.S. stock market's rapid growth in recent years and proven resilient to separate shocks to the economy related to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as tech tools became essential for conducting business and remote schooling.

In August 2020, amid the pandemic, Apple stock soared to make it the first U.S. company to boast a market valuation of $2 trillion.