Apple will become the first trillion dollar company in history by 2014, market analysts predict. Stick that up your pipe and smoke it, Bill Gates.

The dangerously hip electronics company – which has largely been revived off the back of the iPod, iPad and iPhone – will hit share prices of US$1000 within the year. This is according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, who believes that money shifting from the market cap of Apple’s major competitors plus more money being invested into technology stocks will lead to the result.

Apple is currently worth around US$576 billion and shares have risen 55 per cent since the beginning of the year. All this is a good indication that the US$1 trillion mark is not just a pipe dream.

It’s believed that shares will continue to rise also off the back of expansion into China in the next 12 months – a market that Apple admits it hasn’t penetrated properly yet. It’s a market that the company has been keeping a close eye on in terms of Apple piracy, including complete fake Apple stores.

Web: Apple