In 1995, global conglomerate General Electric became the world's first $100 billion company. The industrial giant was producing everything from light bulbs to aircraft engines, and it marked yet another evolution of the U.S. economy -- just 94 years earlier, in 1901, the largest company was United States Steel with a value of $1 billion.

That economic progress has never stopped (and likely never will). Technology now rules the day, and in 2018, consumer electronics giant Apple became the first corporation to amass a $1 trillion market capitalization. 

It has since been joined by other tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google parent Alphabet. But the $1 trillion club will only grow larger over time, so which companies might be next to join?

I'll share two candidates, and both could deliver juicy returns for investors if they do reach a $1 trillion market capitalization. 

1. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (META 0.73%) might be the only company in the world that can say it serves 3.7 billion people. That's how many users engage with its social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp each month. Meta is no stranger to the $1 trillion club, having spent a brief period there in 2021. 

It's no longer there because its stock has declined by 42% from its all-time high, which values the company at $571 billion today. Meta's enormous investment in developing the metaverse is one of the reasons its stock has performed so poorly, but ironically, it could form the basis for the company achieving a $1 trillion market value again in the future.

Investors grew frustrated over the last two years at Meta's losses in its Reality Labs segment, which is responsible for developing both hardware and software for virtual worlds. It burned $23.9 billion in 2021 and 2022 combined, while a difficult economic environment was also sapping advertising money away from its family of social media apps. A combination of those factors led to stalled revenue growth and declining net income (profit) throughout last year especially.

But Meta recently committed to a more disciplined approach to spending, which included a plan to lay off more than 21,000 employees starting in November 2022. CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls this a "year of efficiency" for the company as he predicts the economic environment will continue to be challenging.

But the long term is where Meta could create the most value. According to a study conducted by Statista -- which was then cited by the World Economic Forum -- the metaverse could attract 700 million people by 2030, creating a financial opportunity worth as much as $4.4 trillion. Zuckerberg is even more optimistic, predicting 1 billion users will crawl his company's virtual worlds. Since nearly half the planet engages with Meta's existing apps, it isn't difficult to imagine a sizable portion transitioning to its metaverse.

In the short term, Meta is doing a great job keeping users engaged across its platforms with new features like Reels, and with the power of artificial intelligence to curate content. Investors have sent Meta stock surging 76% so far in 2023, and if it can book a further 71% gain from here, it will officially be back in the $1 trillion club.

2. Berkshire Hathaway

Perhaps no company is on a clearer trajectory to a $1 trillion valuation than Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.98%) (BRK.B 0.98%). It's the investment house run by the Oracle of Omaha himself, Warren Buffett. 

Berkshire holds a portfolio of stocks, Treasuries, and cash worth about $345 billion, and it's structured to represent a cross-section of the U.S. economy. In that stock portfolio, you'll find Coca-Cola, which Berkshire has held since 1988, and Apple, which now represents 44% of the value of the firm's entire holdings. Additionally, it holds stock in an assortment of banks, oil companies, and a few additional technology companies.

Buffett has instilled an ultra-long-term mentality into the firm, meaning it typically invests in stocks it intends to hold for decades, if not forever. It's the best way to benefit from the effects of compounding, particularly since many of Berkshire's holdings pay a juicy dividend. The strategy served the firm very well, as it's currently valued at $714 billion.

Since 1965, Berkshire's Class A stock has grown in value at a compound annual rate of 19.8%, which crushes the 9.9% annual return of the benchmark S&P 500 index. In absolute terms, it means $1,000 invested in Berkshire stock in 1965 would've been worth $39.8 million at the end of 2022! A $1,000 investment in the S&P 500 at the same time would've been worth just $247,080. 

Its performance has been so strong that the firm has become the most active investor in its own stock, regularly executing buybacks that return money to shareholders by way of a reduced share count, and therefore, a higher share price. 

If the pace of Berkshire's annual stock returns continues, the $707 billion company will be sitting alongside Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet in the $1 trillion club within the next two years. But even if it underperforms, getting there is almost a foregone conclusion in the long run.