Answer: Apple

Here's a chart that shows their incredible increase in value over the past 18 years: 

Questions: 

• Which Apple product do you think has had the largest impact on the value of the company?
• Looking at the graph, if someone had invested $100 in Apple stock in 2000, how much would it be worth in 2018?
• Based on the graph, was the iPhone an initial success?
• What company do you think might be the next to $1 trillion? Explain your answer.

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

Behind the numbers (from Business Insider): 

Since 2008, the launch of the original iPhone, the iPad, the Apple Watch, and most recently the iPhone X have stimulated the smartphone maker's unprecedented growth in market value.

Additional resources:

• NY Times article that gives some historical perspective to this achievement.  
• Visual Capitalist chart showing market cap milestones over time.

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Note: Thanks to Allen Cox for correcting the earlier question which asked "Which company was the first to hit $1 trillion in market cap?" Petro China was the first to hit that milestone in 2007 but tanked soon after. 

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Looking for ways to show the importance of psychology when it comes to investing? Be sure to check out this activity idea "How a Jar of Jellybeans Can Teach Students About the Stock Market"

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.