• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, August 19, 2020

Surely making the spirit of Steve Jobs proud, Apple’s stock market value surpassed $2 trillion this week.

The achievement is remarkable for a number of reasons, including the fact Apple’s stock value exceeded a trillion dollars just two years ago.

It also makes Apple the first company in this country’s history to break the $2 trillion barrier, while putting it billions of dollars above the stock valueof  other tech titans, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet.

Its soaring stock reflects a company firing on all cylinders, from strong iPhone sales to the increasing success of Apple’s digital services.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, all those factors helped Apple post quarterly revenue of $59.7 billion during its fiscal third quarter, which represented an increase of 11% year-over-year.

Investors are also probably excited over reports that Apple is preparing to launch a number of subscription service bundles as early as October.

The bundles will encourage customers to subscribe to more Apple services, which is expected to generate more recurring revenue, Bloomberg recently reported.

Unfortunately for Apple, news of its towering wealth comes amid mounting criticism over the share of revenue it takes from app developers, and calls to break up the company.

In what appeared to be an orchestrated move, Epic Games just sued Apple for removing "Fortnite" from the App Store.

In the complaint, the gaming giant accused Apple of “anti-competitive restraints and monopolistic practices.”

Perhaps precipitating the lawsuit, other developers and lawmakers have recently expressed their displeasure with the 30% share of in-app subscriptions Apple takes during an app’s first year in the App Store. (After a year, Apple takes a 15% cut of subscription revenue.)

Addressing the issue, Rep. David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) has characterized Apple as a monopolist.

Apple CEO Tim Cook faced similar criticism last month, during a hearing hosted by the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee.

Overseas, meanwhile, the European Commission announced antitrust probes into the business practices of Apple’s App Store and Apple Pay in June.