So, this happened today, at least for a few moments, as Apple’s and ExxonMobil’s share prices fluctuated during the day.
Apple set to surpass ExxonMobil as large company in the world | TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
At market close, ExxonMobil was still larger, by about $600 million in market cap, the measure for largest in this case.
It feels odd that a consumer electronics company should be the World’s most valuable company. I suppose this is debatable, since it measures value on a single index with a single metric, but we do know that Apple has more cash on hand than the US government.
Is that a better measure of “most valuable”?
Find the comments.
Update: Interesting tidbit from Marketwatch, previous largest-market-cap title-holders are: Exxon, IBM, AT&T, GM, Microsoft and Philip Morris. Interesting mix.
all hail the cult of apple!
I’m more surprised that Phillip Morris was once on the list… AT&T, IBM, MSFT, and GM all make sense. Walmart would as well… but a tobacco company??? Weird…
Yup, I thought the same, but there was no timeframe given. Philip Morris could have reigned that roost back in the days of Don Draper or more likely, in the days of Ron Reagan, the president.
Tobacco companies were once desirable, profitable entities. Remember that much of 1950s television was funded by tobacco companies.
Apple is similar to IBM, GM, et al because it makes tangible products. ExxonMobile is similar to…well, to Philip Morris because it is based on natural resources, which are again tangible.
It will be interesting to see what happens when a manufacturer of non-tangible goods tops the list. It doesn’t look like AOL will be that company, but perhaps Facebook or Zynga might have a shot at it.
Like I said, the Don Draper era 🙂
I don’t see Apple as a clear parallel to IBM or Microsoft bc it’s almost entirely a consumer player. They make phones. It’s mind-boggling.
You point about tangible goods is a valid one, and yes, I suppose at some point that will happen. And then, I’ll say that’s odd too 🙂
Interesting that Apple doesn’t have a triple-A credit rating, unlike Exxon (and Microsoft and a couple of others).
http://www.businessinsider.com/aaa-rating-us-companies-2011-8
Heh, even more interesting:
“S&P’s John Chambers said it was not planning on downgrading those companies’ AAA ratings despite the agency’s policy not to have a company’s rating be higher than its home country’s sovereign rating.”