Apple $1 trillion? Sounds Impressive. Could Apple be the first company to hit the $1 trillion valuation mark? It is quite possible considering the company is worth about $670 billion today. Its closest competitor is Microsoft with about $409 billion. Apple's stock needs to rise to about 46% in the next eighteen months to get to the coveted  $1 trillion mark .It has already risen by 40% just this year, could this be the golden year for Tim Cook's Apple?

In the past, many companies have been tipped to hit the coveted $1 trillion valuation mark. Very few have actually gone on to hit the big number. Analysts are viewing the possible touting of Apple and Microsoft as possible contenders as signs of an oncoming tech bubble similar to the one that was present in the 2000's. In the year 2000, the tech bubble engulfed the market as stocks such as Cisco and Microsoft hit the big figures in terms of growth and were possibly on their way to the $1 trillion valuation.

This did not happen as the bubble collapsed and Cisco is now worth about $135 billion, a far cry from its $550 billion peak in 2000. The Apple $1 trillion valuation may hit the same stalemate.

According to analyst Carl Icahn, Apple could just be the company to make the cut. If it can get a valuation of $167 per share in the next few months, a huge difference from the analyst forecast $117 growth, it could get to the figure.

Other analysts are not so optimistic. According to Collin Gills, an analyst with BGC Partners, the Apple $1 trillion valuation seems unlikely. Given the type of industry that Apple is in, the hardware industry, such a possibility is bleak. Nobody stays on top of the hardware business for long, look at Sony or Nokia.

Competition from other countries like China may also prove detrimental to Apple. It remains to be seen whether the Apple $1 trillion mark will be achieved.