This past week’s market crash may have had many of us tearing out our hair and preparing for the worst, but one company has seemingly defied the odds.
In an incredible feat and only two days after the major market fall, tech giant Apple (News 
- Alert) has toppled over Exxon Mobil to close Wednesday as the most valuable public company across the globe, as reported by Business Insider.
Apple’s recent monster quarter, thanks to its massive iPad and iPhone (News - Alert) sales, as well as this week’s market downfall, launched it a good $6 billion ahead of Exxon Wednesday – certainly showing that Apple has come a long way since the beginning of 2011, when it lagged $75 billion behind the international oil services company. Back in May, Apple eclipsed Microsoft and slid into the No. 2 spot.
According to market data from FactSet (News - Alert) Research, as reported by MarketWatch.com, Exxon’s shares slid by $3.14, or 4.4 percent, to close at $68.03, resulting in a market cap of $330.8 billion. Meanwhile, Apple shares fell $10.32, or 2.8 percent, to $363.69, giving the company a market cap of $337.2 billion.
The five-year market reigning champion, Exxon had a minor scare during Tuesday’s trading session, when its shares were briefly overtaken by Apple. However, Exxon recovered late in the day and was able to keep its position as the most valuable company – at least until today.
This achievement reflects the rise of consumer technology as well as Apple’s potential for continued growth, as it will continue to bring to market new, innovative technology products. Meanwhile, with Exxon comes a possible gloomy future, where oil prospects and discovery are limited.
"Two things that I would definitely say have hurt Exxon are lower oil prices and its increasing reliance on natural gas," said Philip Weiss, an analyst at Argus Research in New York, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
As TMCnet’s own Peter Bernstein aptly put it in his report of Apple’s recent soaring earnings: “All in all, Apple certainly has a lot to be proud of. Its orchard seems well-stocked going forward with fruit that consumers and a growing number of businesses want to take a bite of.”
Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Tammy Wolf
