bassethound
10-08-11, 16:36
Apple has surpassed oil giant Exxon as the world's most valuable company after the US stock market recovered in Wall Street.
The maker of iPhones and iPads had been close to becoming the planet's most valuable firm by market capitalisation after it reported another record-breaking quarter last month.
After the US stock market rallied following last week's crash, Apple took the lead with a market value of $337bn (£207.1bn) against ExxonMobil's $334bn.
Exxon could retake the top spot if the global economy picks back up, but the company's value has been hit by a slump in oil prices due to the ongoing financial instability.
In contrast, Apple's growth shows no signs of slowing down, with strong sales posted last quarter across all product lines, including iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch and Mac computers.
The Cupertino, California, based firm shifted a massive 20.34m iPhones in the second quarter of 2011, more than double the amount in the same period last year, while consumers bought 9.25m iPads, nearly triple the number sold in the product's debut quarter last year.
Revenue at the company reached $28.57bn in the three months to June 25, up 90% year-on-year, while profits stood at $7.31bn, a huge rise of 125% year-on-year.
Should Apple solidify its position as the world's most valuable company, it would be an impressive achievement for chief executive Steve Jobs, who was fired from the firm in 1985 after it struggled to compete with Microsoft and the PC.
When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as part of the $400m acquisition of NeXT Software, the struggling company was worth just $2bn, but he oversaw a renaissance with the development of a new range of brightly coloured Macs, followed by the revolutionary iPod and iPhone.
Apple surpassed PC giant Dell in January 2006 with a market value of $72.1bn, and secured the landmark achievement of eclipsing Microsoft in May last year.
Last month, it also emerged that Apple has more money than the US government, holding cash reserves of $76.4 billion compared with the US Treasury's $74 billion. America currently has debts of $14.4 trillion, while Apple is debt free.
The maker of iPhones and iPads had been close to becoming the planet's most valuable firm by market capitalisation after it reported another record-breaking quarter last month.
After the US stock market rallied following last week's crash, Apple took the lead with a market value of $337bn (£207.1bn) against ExxonMobil's $334bn.
Exxon could retake the top spot if the global economy picks back up, but the company's value has been hit by a slump in oil prices due to the ongoing financial instability.
In contrast, Apple's growth shows no signs of slowing down, with strong sales posted last quarter across all product lines, including iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch and Mac computers.
The Cupertino, California, based firm shifted a massive 20.34m iPhones in the second quarter of 2011, more than double the amount in the same period last year, while consumers bought 9.25m iPads, nearly triple the number sold in the product's debut quarter last year.
Revenue at the company reached $28.57bn in the three months to June 25, up 90% year-on-year, while profits stood at $7.31bn, a huge rise of 125% year-on-year.
Should Apple solidify its position as the world's most valuable company, it would be an impressive achievement for chief executive Steve Jobs, who was fired from the firm in 1985 after it struggled to compete with Microsoft and the PC.
When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as part of the $400m acquisition of NeXT Software, the struggling company was worth just $2bn, but he oversaw a renaissance with the development of a new range of brightly coloured Macs, followed by the revolutionary iPod and iPhone.
Apple surpassed PC giant Dell in January 2006 with a market value of $72.1bn, and secured the landmark achievement of eclipsing Microsoft in May last year.
Last month, it also emerged that Apple has more money than the US government, holding cash reserves of $76.4 billion compared with the US Treasury's $74 billion. America currently has debts of $14.4 trillion, while Apple is debt free.