The four commas club had seven companies in 2021, but since then three familiar names dipped below $1 trillion market capitalization.

Answer:

• Apple - $2.21 trillion
• Aramco - $2.01 trillion
• Microsoft - $1.60 trillion
• Alphabet (Google's parent) - $1.08 trillion

Market Capitalization (as of 11/3/2022)

Market capitalization - valuation of a company calculated by multiplying the current stock price by the number of shares outstanding for that specific company. 

Questions:

• How many of these companies' products do you use? 
  • Calculate the percentage of students in your class who use each of the company’s products. 
• Why do you think they are so valuable? What makes a company valuable to investors?
• Which of the four companies do you think will be most valuable in 5 years? Why? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Visual Capitalist):

"The Shrinking Trillion Dollar Club

Aggressive tightening from the Federal Reserve has caused tech stocks to plummet back to Earth in 2022, and this has shaken up the membership of the trillion-dollar market cap club. Apple, Microsoft, and Aramco are all still well above the $1 trillion mark for now, but Alphabet’s trajectory could take it out of this list if circumstances don’t change soon. Google has indicated that the decrease in crypto advertising has had a big impact on revenue, and ad budgets continue to be slashed as economic uncertainty continues.

Amazon recently became the latest company to fall below the 10-digit threshold. In response to a poorly received earnings report and forecasts for lighter spending this upcoming holiday season, the ecommerce giant has paused corporate hiring for the foreseeable future.

Though Tesla’s valuation has dipped in recent months, Elon Musk remains bullish on Tesla’s prospects, stating the company could eventually be “worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined”. To his credit, Tesla reported record revenues last month."

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Want to see how these companies compare with other companies in the S&P 500? This activity, Interactive: What is the S&P 500? is a student favorite and provides a great visualization of this index. 

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Learn more about companies joining and exiting the Trillion Dollar Club through Visual Capitalist infographics 

About the Author

Mason Butts

After graduating from UCLA with a Master's in Education, Mason spent 5 years as a science educator in a South Los Angeles public high school. He is committed to supporting the holistic growth of all students and empowering them to live a life of relational, academic, and financial success. Now settled in the Bay Area, Mason enjoys facilitating professional developments and partnering with educators as they prepare students for a bright financial future. When Mason is not building curriculum or planning a training, he can be found cycling, trying new foods, and exploring the outdoors.