Apple Briefly Passes Exxon as World’s Largest Company
August 09, 2011, 2:15 PM EDTBy Nick Turner
(Updates with Exxon shares in the second paragraph.)
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. briefly passed Exxon Mobil Corp. today to become the world’s largest company by market value, before dropping back down to second place.
The shares rose as much as 4.7 percent to $369.89 today on the Nasdaq Stock Market, giving Apple a valuation of $342.9 billion. The stock pared those gains and was trading at $365.93 as of 1:41 p.m. New York time, with a market capitalization of $339.1 billion. Exxon is down 40 cents to $69.79 on the New York Stock Exchange, giving it a value of $339.4 billion.
Apple’s valuation has soared in recent years as Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs pushed into new markets, such as mobile phones, tablets and music downloads. The company overtook Nokia Oyj in smartphone shipments for the first time last quarter, becoming the leader in that market. Apple’s iPhone, released in 2007, is now its best-selling product.
--Editors: Nick Turner
To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Turner in San Francisco at nturner7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
