Tim Cook has 2 trillion reasons to smile

Hello and welcome to Trending, Business Insider's weekly look at the world of tech. I'm Alexei Oreskovic, Business Insider's West Coast Bureau Chief and Global Tech Editor. Let's see how far we can get this week before mentioning TikTok.

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This week: Tim Cook has 2 trillion reasons to smile

After nine years in the top job, Apple CEO Tim Cook finally got his wings: $4

Cook is a latecomer to the party, primarily because unlike fellow tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page, Cook isn't a company founder who started off with a giant stake. But Cook is leading the pack in another race. Apple is on track to become the $4 (at the end of Tuesday, Apple was worth $1.87 trillion).

You may be wondering:

• Aren't we still in a pandemic that's forced Apple to $4 and to $4?
• $4 (along with other Big Tech CEOs) from irascible lawmakers bent on breaking up giant tech corporations?
• Aren't we in an escalating tech "cold war" with China>$4 that puts companies like Apple in the middle of the crossfire?
• Didn't one of the most closely watched Apple analysts just predict that $4 because Trump's$4 could make the iPhone unappealing to Chinese consumers?
• And doesn't practically everyone who needs a smartphone already have one anyway?

The answer to all those questions is yes.

But... for Apple investors, only 4 words matter right now: $4

Super cycles — the magical moments that come every few years when everyone suddenly gets the urge to buy a new smartphone like it's 2009 again — have a way of not living up to expectations. But this is Apple, the Think Different company. So, as they say, maybe this time it's different.

Or maybe Apple investors are simply experiencing the same $4 despite the coronavirus, the recession, a looming election and so many other risks.

Surprise: IPOs are back!

It was only a few months ago that the IPO market was in the doldrums, laid low by the same virus-based malaise that afflicted the overall economy. But a little $4 and a hefty side-order of $4 seem to have brightened the mood on Wall Street.

In the past few weeks we've seen $4 of trading, and $4

Next up is Airbnb, which, after postponing its IPO plans this spring, is $4 Airbnb has seen a nice rebound in its home rental business (I stayed at an Airbnb just last week for a close-to-home summer getaway), $4

And Palantir, the secretive, military-loving big data company founded by Peter Thiel, should be opening its books en route to a public listing any day now.

While you wait for Palantir's S-1 filing to drop, I highly recommend Becky Peterson's $4. Becky's story not only offers a great window into the culture of Silicon Valley's misfit startup, but it's also the best examination of Palantir's business that you'll get short of reading the company's forthcoming prospectus.