Can Apple win the trillion-dollar race today?

After a bumper set of results last night, Apple is riding on a high that could take it all the way to a trillion-dollar market valuation.

Apples share price has leaped up to 4.11 per cent in pre-market trading, at a value of $198.11 (£151) per share. If it's to break the trillion-dollar mark, Apple needs to hit $203 per share, or an increase of roughly 7 per cent.

"Although it would be a bit of a stretch, a push up to the $1tn mark today is a possibility. Its only a matter of time," said Markets.com's chief market analyst Neil Wilson.

"If it does, cue some big profit taking but it would be a moment to savour for Tim Cook."

Read more: Apple smashes expectations as iPhone X sales soar

Meanwhile, Apple's overnight rise has taken the companys market capitalisation to somewhere above $956bn. But whos coming up just behind?

As it stood last night, the so-called FAANGs group – which includes Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google – is valued at nearly 19 per cent of US GDP.

Data provided by AJ Bell

Though GDP is an often-used yardstick for measuring a company's market success, analysts said investors should be way of buying across the board.

Facebook and Netlifx both experienced share price falls of up to 20 per cent this earnings season, in stark comparison to Apple and Amazon's jump ahead of the gang.

Read more: FAANGs out: Tech stocks open on a positive note after a bumpy season

"Investors cannot be complacent about Apple, even if the numbers look good now," said AJ Bell's investment director Russ Mould.

"Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data and Honeywell were all kings of the technology hill over 40 years ago, as they flexed their muscles in the world of mainframes and took on the mighty IBM.

"Yet they are all but forgotten now and none of them are leading players in computing, to show that it is very hard for any firm to stay at the top for too long, especially in an industry that moves as fast as technology."