On September 15, Google, the world’s largest search engine company, achieved a market capitalization of $3 trillion. On that day, Google’s stock price closed at $251.76 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), up 4.30% ($10.38) from the previous trading day, marking the largest gain among major tech companies. The company’s market capitalization reached $3.041 trillion, surpassing the $3 trillion threshold.

This marks the first time Google’s market value has exceeded $3 trillion since its public listing in 2004, 21 years ago. With this milestone, Google became the fourth company globally to surpass a $3 trillion market cap, following Apple, Microsoft (MS), and Nvidia.

The most significant factor in Google’s ascent to a $3 trillion market cap was a federal court ruling related to an antitrust lawsuit concerning its dominance in the online search market. Last year, a court ruled that Google held an illegal monopolistic position in the search market, prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to demand actions such as the divestiture of Google’s Chrome browser. However, on September 2, Federal Judge Amit Mehta rejected the Justice Department’s most severe sanctions.

This allowed Google to retain its Chrome browser and Android operating system, a major positive development for the company, which has faced ongoing scrutiny over its dominance in search and mobile ecosystems. While the ruling requires Google to share some data with competitors, the fact that it does not have to sell Chrome or Android significantly alleviated investor concerns about Google’s core businesses. Since the court ruling on September 2, Google’s stock price has surged by over 20% as of this day.