Forget industrial giants like General Electric, or healthcare companies like Proctor & Gamble; it will be a tech company that first hits the magical $1 trillion.
Apple, the world's most valuable company, is on track to hit that milestone, the only question is when. The stock, which is currently worth $659.5 billion, is already more valuable than Microsoft and Amazon combined, with the former being the next top valuable stock in terms of market capitalisation.
Microsoft is followed by Exxon Mobile - the world's third most valuable share in terms of market cap - which is worth $388.8 billion. After these three top stocks - Apple, Microsoft and Exxon - the next most valuable tech entity is Google, with a market capitalisation of $360.6 billion.
The only other stock in the top 10 heavyweights by market capitalisation - a list compiled by ITWeb - that is also in the tech sector, is Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce platform that listed to much fanfare in September. The other contenders include Berkshire Hathaway, Wells Fargo & Co, Wal-Mart Stores, General Electric and Johnson & Johnson.
Guns blazing
Vestact analyst Sasha Naryshkine says Apple is likely to be the first company out of the top 10 to break the magical $1 trillion mark. Just two weeks ago, the device maker made records when, according to Apple Insider, it broke the $700 billion market capitalisation mark.
Naryshkine says it will take time - two to three years - before Apple hits $1 trillion, and this depends on its product refreshes and market share gains. Its latest handsets - the Apple 6 and Apple 6 Plus - were unveiled in September, with demand being unprecedented, a trend that continued when the devices hit local shores.
In the company's fourth quarter results, released in October, it beat analysts' expectations with revenue of $42.1 billion and profit of $8.5 billion, notes Vestact. CEO Tim Cook notes the quarter was "one for the record books", as it included "the biggest iPhone launch ever, with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus".
Cook says Apple, which has been criticised for a lack of innovation, was "heading into the holidays with Apple's strongest product line-up ever", and is "incredibly excited about Apple Watch and other great products and services in the pipeline for 2015".
Apple, currently trading at $114.12, will crest the $1 trillion market when its share gets to $171, if the shares in issue remain stable, says Naryshkine. Yet, he cautions, if it is more aggressive with its share buy-backs, a move that was brought in last year under Cook, fewer shares in issue means a lower market capitalisation.
During the last quarter, Vestact notes, its share buy-back and dividend programme saw more than $20 billion returned during the period - taking the total to $94 billion so far, and trimming shares in issue by 40 million.
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