Microsoft Corp. has overtaken Apple Inc. as the most valuable company in the U.S. for the first time in more than a year, topping $2.44 trillion in market capitalization Friday (Oct. 29), according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Apple is once again the world’s most valuable public company
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In mid-May, Apple was unseated as the world's most valuable company by Saudi Aramco after its shares fell by more than 5% in a single day. Shares bottomed out at the end of last week down at around $137 having opened the year at $182. However, this week its shares have surged by 11.77 points and 8.54% in just five days to restore Apple to the top of the market cap rankings with a value of over 2.42 trillion. Saudi Aramco's shares fell slightly Friday but remain up for the week overall. YTD the Saudi Arabian Oil Company has seen its share price and value grow more than 25%, conversely, Apple's share price has fallen by 17.78% in the same amount of time.
Tesla (TSLA 1.05%) is currently valued at $690 billion, making it the sixth-largest public company in the world. However, CEO Elon Musk made the following comment during the latest earnings call: "I see a potential path with Tesla worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined." That bold statement values the company at $4.5 trillion, and others on Wall Street are even more optimistic.
Despite missing delivery estimates, Tesla delivered another round of solid financial results in the third quarter. Revenue climbed 56% to $21.5 billion, and free cash flow (FCF) soared 148% to a record $3.3 billion. But the most exciting news was that the company once again posted an industry-leading operating margin -- this time, it rose to 17.2% -- reinforcing CEO Elon Musk's prediction that manufacturing efficiency would be its strongest competitive advantage.
That said, Tesla has also brought technological innovations to the table. For instance, when the company introduced its 2170 battery cell a few years ago, Musk said it was both the cheapest and the highest energy density cell in the world. Cairn Energy Research Advisors corroborated that claim, noting that Tesla pays less per kilowatt-hour for battery packs than any other automaker. That's particularly noteworthy because battery packs are the most expensive part of an electric car, meaning Tesla has a significant cost advantage. Better yet, the company is now scaling production of its next-generation 4680 battery cell, which promises to further reduce costs.
First, Tesla will launch its FSD beta software across North America this quarter; Europe and other parts of the world will follow, pending regulatory approval. Of course, demand for FSD software will likely rise once the product is out of beta (i.e., once it offers true autonomy), but the company should still see an uptick in subscription software revenue in the near term. Second, Tesla plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service at some point in the future. Management has not provided a specific date, but the company does have a robotaxi set for production in 2024. To that end, Tesla may be equal parts automaker, software vendor, and services provider a decade down the road.
US companies continue to dominate Companies from the US have maintained their supremacy on international stock exchanges again this year. At the end of 2022, 61 US corporations were among the 100 most valuable companies in the world (previous year: 62). The dominance of US companies becomes even clearer when we look at the top 10: Of the ten most valuable companies in the world, nine are from the US. The most valuable company in the world is Apple, with a market value of USD 2.1 trillion. New in second place is Saudi Aramco, the only company in the top 10 not headquartered in the USA. The oil company from Saudi Arabia is valued at USD 1.9 trillion, pushing Microsoft (USD 1.8 trillion) and Google parent company Alphabet (USD 1.1 trillion) down to third and fourth place. The other ranks are occupied by the US companies Amazon (USD 847 billion), Berkshire Hathaway (USD 674 billion) and UnitedHealth (USD 497 billion).
A total of nine Swiss companies have made it into the top 300. In addition to Nestlé, Roche and Novartis, these are: Chubb Limited (ranked 144), Glencore (153), Richemont (182), Zurich Insurance (190), UBS (238) and ABB (246). With a view to the top 500 most valuable companies in the world, a total of 12 Swiss companies can be named. These include in addition: Sika (445), TE Connectivity (461) and Lonza (462).
The most valuable European company is currently the French luxury group LVMH, which is ranked 15. In addition to LVMH, four other companies from France rank among the top 100: L'Oréal (ranked 49), Hermès (58), TotalEnergies (62) and Christian Dior (84). Germany is not represented in the top 100 ranking at the end of 2022. The highest-rated German group is the software provider SAP, which is ranked 106th with a market value of USD 121 billion. The UK has four companies is among the world's top 100: AstraZeneca (ranked 41), Shell (44), Linde (59) and Unilever (91).
Both these tech giants have registered outstanding growth in recent years following important business transformation strategies by both CEOs. Despite the sharp technological advances in recent years and the emergence of new important entrants in the technology space, it is difficult to predict who can dethrone Microsoft and Apple as the most valuable publicly traded company in the future.
Stocks rose on Wall Street Friday as the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed above 1,500 for the first time since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. Apple stock continued to decline, allowing Exxon Mobil to once again surpass the electronics giant as the world's most valuable publicly traded company
Apple continued to decline, allowing Exxon Mobil to once again surpass the electronics giant as the world's most valuable publicly traded company. Apple fell 2.4 percent to $439.88, following a 12 percent drop on Thursday, the biggest one-day percentage drop for the company since 2008, after Apple forecast slower sales. The stock is now 37 percent below the record high of $702.10 it reached Sept. 19.
Microsoft Corp. is once again the most valuable company in the U.S., with the software heavyweight's market cap hitting $2.49 trillion and surpassing Apple Inc. for the first time in more than a year.
Microsoft's last extended run as the world's most valuable company took place during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when its business mostly consisted of the Windows Operating system and its suite of Office software applications.
Apple is on pace to be the world's largest technology company in terms of sales by the end of the year, and it's among the most profitable companies in the world. In the last three months of 2011, Apple made $13 billion -- second only to ExxonMobil's (XOM) record-setting $14.8 billion quarter from the fall of 2008, when oil prices were at an all-time high.
Apple still has one last hurdle to climb: Microsoft still holds the record for most valuable company on the stock market if inflation is taken into account. In 2012 dollars, Microsoft's all-time-high would have amounted to $851 billion.
The company has made multimillion-dollar investments in acquisitions, net capital expenditures, and R&D, earning it the most US patents for the 21st straight year in 2013. In early 2014, IBM formed the IBM Watson Group, which aims to work out how to make decisions based on all the data that exists in the world as it looks to set itself apart from the rest of its competitors as the leader in the big data space.
Back in 2019, Microsoft became the third company ever to reach a $1 trillion market cap, coming in just behind Apple. A few months ago Microsoft began to catch up to Apple, crossing the $2 trillion mark and now as of today, Microsoft has overtaken Apple as the world's most valuable company.
With this milestone, Microsoft has now surpassed Apple and become the most valuable company in the world. Continued growth can be attributed to Microsoft's strong efforts in cloud, data and enterprise, as well as continued success in software services and the gaming market.
Apple is a company with a strong corporate culture. Apple employees are proud to work for one of the most successful companies in the world, and they make significant sacrifices to work on products that could change the world.
All the way from Japan to Australia to California, die hard Apple fans lined up the streets for sixth consecutive time to update their beloved hardware and software while lifting the Cupertino, California, company's stock even further and helping to consolidate Apple as one of the most valuable companies in history.
But the maps fiasco could be the least of the Apple's problems. The company is starting to face new scrutiny over its finances, as the astronomical sales of iPhone 5 propel the company's stock and value once again. Fresh concerns about the company's tax practices, which aren't by any means illegal, have surfaced as Apple has been successful not only at producing and selling high quality products but also at minimizing tax liabilities in California and 20 other states through its financial subsidiary -- Braeburn Capital -- located in Reno, Nevada.
Against all odds, Steve Jobs pulled the company he founded and loved back from the brink. Apple once again was healthy and churning out the kind of breakthrough products that made the Apple name synonymous with innovation.
So I think the real lessons from Steve Jobs have to be drawn from looking at what he actually accomplished. I once asked him what he thought was his most important creation, thinking he would answer the iPad or the Macintosh. Instead he said it was Apple the company. Making an enduring company, he said, was both far harder and more important than making a great product. How did he do it? Business schools will be studying that question a century from now. Here are what I consider the keys to his success. 2ff7e9595c
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