Is it the right time to buy $AAPL stock after it crossed $3 trillion?

With a company valuation of around $3 trillion, Apple is not only the largest stock in the world by market capitalization. The stock is leaps and bounds (in terms of valuation) above other "trillion-dollar" stocks.

The only one at least approaching them is Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a current valuation of around $2.5 trillion.

Still, we wouldn't take this big valuation lead to mean that $AAPL stock will remain immune to all market headwinds in the near term. As noted above, market volatility could drive the stock lower.

Although the stock appears to be continuing its return to a "bull market," keep in mind that issues like high inflation and rising interest rates have not completely disappeared. The Federal Reserve's next moves will likely determine whether this nascent bull market continues.

On the other hand, while AAPL may not be unsinkable, it's not like the stock can only go down from here anytime soon. That's largely because there's a strong near-term growth catalyst on the horizon. As I recently reported, Apple is expected to release a new iPhone in the fall. In the meantime, investors could bid up the stock in anticipation of strong Q4 2023 results.

Billions in reach

Whether you've been holding $AAPL stock for a while or are considering buying it today, you can take comfort that something is in play that will allow the stock to maintain (and add to) its recent gains.

When deciding whether to enter a position in Apple stock, however, focus on the long-term instead of focusing too much on the near-term.

While the stock could continue to rise at a moderate pace in the coming months, share price movements in the years ahead could be very significant.

More skeptical investors may think Apple's days of high growth and returns are behind it, but while creating trillions more in value is not guaranteed, it is not an insurmountable task for the company.

As Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring argued back in March, there are a number of growth catalysts in the pipeline for AAPL.

These include a re-acceleration of growth in the Apple Services unit and the potential launch of subscription hardware. But that's not all. Entering emerging markets such as India could help Apple's hardware division maintain increased levels of revenue and profit growth.

Apple's burgeoning AR/VR device business could also one day generate annual revenues in the tens of billions.

Don't misunderstand. Apple's rise to a market capitalization in excess of $3 trillion is quite an accomplishment. Yet reaching this valuation milestone doesn't strengthen or weaken the long-term bullish argument for the stock.

Fortunately, the aforementioned catalysts for the stock point to the stock remaining on an upward trajectory over the long term.

Assuming the stock can continue to trade at its current earnings multiple, Apple only needs to grow earnings by 33.3% to reach $4 trillion.Based on some sell-side earnings forecasts, the company could achieve this within two years. Over 5-10 years, continued double-digit earnings growth could add trillions more to AAPL's valuation.