World's Most Valuable Company? Apple Has $50 Billion to Go
Symbol Price Change
AAPL 389.42 +2.52
VERNE G. KOPYTOFF, On Wednesday July 20, 2011, 3:59 pm EDT
Look out Exxon. Here comes Apple.
The race for the world's most valuable company is tightening. Exxon, the energy colossus, currently wears the crown of the most valuable company in terms of market capitalization. But Apple, with its rapidly growing empire of iPhones, iPads and Macs, is quickly closing the gap.
Exxon's market capitalization, the combined value of all its shares, was $411.6 billion as of midday Wednesday. Apple's was $360.7 billion, up more than $10 billion from a day earlier after reporting yet another stellar quarter of record sales.
Apple's shares happen to be on a tear. Over the last year, they've risen 50 percent to $389.93. Exxon's have done pretty well too. They are up around 40 percent during the same period, to $83.59.
Whether Apple will eventually surpass Exxon depends on a number of factors like its growth and oil prices. But clearly, Apple has the momentum.
Apple already dwarfs its fellow technology companies like Microsoft, which has a market capitalization of $228.9 billion. Google trails at $192.9 billion.
Others in the technology industry trail even further behind. In some cases, the gap is more like a canyon. Apple's market capitalization is nearly five times greater than Hewlett-Packard's, for example, and 11 times greater than Dell's.
Granted, rankings by market capitalization are fickle. An investor darling one day can quickly flop and tumble down the list another.
Microsoft held the top position until it was passed by Cisco Systems near the end of the Internet bubble. Cisco soon lost its crown (it is again in revamp mode) with more job cuts and management shuffling.
