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Apple's Market Cap Exceeds Google's

Posted by samzenpus on from the big-apple dept.

Lawrence Person writes "Mac Daily News was one of many Apple-followers to note that Apple Inc.'s market capitalization exceeded Google today. That means that the combined value of all Apple's outstanding shares of stock exceeded the combined value of all Google's outstanding shares of stock. Apple's stock is worth $157 billion and change vs. Google's $156 billion. Other companies Apple has surpassed in market cap include Cisco, HP, and Intel. Also, Apple is now worth 3 times the value of Dell Computer, despite Dell's founder and CEO declaring over a decade ago that if he ran Apple, he'd 'shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.'"

14 of 689 comments (clear)

  1. Well let's just be honest here by Erie+Ed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Look at the price of iPod's, iPhone's, Mac Books, and their other products. They are selling them at an incredible profit. Not hard to see why apple is worth so much. As much as I hate apple I have to give them credit.

    1. Re:Well let's just be honest here by MacOSXHead · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why would you hate Apple?

      They have succeeded with products that people want to pay for.

      They have contributed much to the open source community.

      They have raised the bar for software/hardware technology in general.

      They give developers a great platform for either open source development or Mac development without charging for developer tools.

      They have created an exceptional market for independent developers to make REAL money writing for the iPhone.

      I guess Apple is bad because they make money.

      Mod this guy up to a ten.

    2. Re:Well let's just be honest here by Kjella · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And right now, Macs are the wedge in the door of the Microsoft stranglehold. Linux might slip in, but it's Macs doing the ramming. For example this report puts Macs at 7.9% and Linux at 0.8%. Maybe it's envy that Macs are so popular, but it's stupid. I've very long been a fan of Opera the web browser, but it got a lot more pleasant when we passed 10% "not IE" due to Firefox. I'm quite certain that running Linux as I am will become a lot more pleasant if we pass 10% "not Windows" due to Macs. The positive thinking rrowd could say it would promote cross-platform solutions. The machiavellians can say it's divide and conquer. In any case, Macs are good for Linux. Including shamelessly copying the good parts while still letting you run xfce if you want...

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  2. Not too much of a shock, really. by scott_karana · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not really a shock.

    One company's based on ubiquity and mindshare. The other's the same though less so, but actually retails physical items.

    1. Re:Not too much of a shock, really. by amorsen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      hence the command: "DO NO EVIL!"

      Google's motto is "Don't be evil". The difference is subtle but significant.

      --
      Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
  3. insane by hcdejong · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How can a company with $24B in sales, $3B in profit, and $40B in cash and assets (2007 figures) have a market cap of $160B?

    1. Re:insane by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because in today's economy, the worth of a company isn't what it is, but what it could be. Or rather, what analysts expect it to become.

      And when analysts don't know jack about what they analyse and assess, you get a dot.com bubble.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:insane by hcdejong · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But even then: say I bought all of Apple's stock. If I relied on dividend alone, it would take me 53 years to make a profit on my investment. The only way I could profit in the short term is by trading the shares. It's devolved from a long-term profit projection into a pyramid scheme, IMO.

    3. Re:insane by mjc82 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ...it would take me 53 years to make a profit on my investment.

      Given it's been 13 years (Nov-1995) since they last paid out a cash dividend it's going to take you a lot longer than that! They use the profit they make to re-invest and increase shareholder value. In the last 4 years alone the share-price has gone up by a factor of 10!

      Seriously though, market valuations are very much based on market sentiment and prediction of future market sentiment based on projected company performance, i.e. how people "feel" and expect to "feel" about the company. It's messed up but its how the market seems to work.

      It's better to look at relative performance of various companies to gauge whether prices are sane. Google's P/E (price/earnings) ratio (~30) is still high compared to other mature tech companies, which can be translated as meaning that Google is still expected to grow pretty quick, it's just that Apple (~35) is expected to grow slightly quicker.

  4. Legs to stand on by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, when you factor in a rapidly growing computer market (for Apple) with lots of growth potential left, a rapidly growing music market with lots of growth potential, a rapidly growing smartphone market, a rapidly growing mobile applications market...

    And so on.

    The thing of it is, Apple can still miss in a few categories and still have tremendous room for growth. They have many legs of stability holding up their table of success (I daresay that's the most awful metaphor you'll encounter this week).

    The market rewards innovation, mindshare, and success. Apple has all three...

    If after that you are still mystified - buy mutual funds.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  5. Re:On the one hand ... by Daengbo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You nailed it. Saying Google isn't a real business is like calling your local TV station a sham.

    --
    Put identity in the browser.
  6. Yes by Colin+Smith · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The stock market is a mechanism by which monetary inflation is captured and transferred to the wealthy.

    HTH
     

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    Deleted
  7. More... by BitterOldGUy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    If Apple were to completely revamp their OS or even get rid of it, it wouldn't have that much affect on their sales. If they went all Wintell and just slapped an Apple logo on a Dell, but still have their iPod and other products completely integrated, I still don't think there would be much of an affect on their sales. I think the only folks who would care are the die hard Apple Computer fans - the iPod and fashion crowd wouldn't care.

    How about this....

    What business is Harley Davidson in? Not Motorcycles. They're in the image and fantasy business. Middle aged professionals buy them and pretend to be careless free spirit rebels on the weekends and then on Monday, they're back to being the Sam the accountant or lawyer or engineer. I saw quite a few "bikers" with their Harley Davidson logo'd leather attire (huge business for Harley!) and Rolex watches. Real motorcycle enthusiasts, from what I'm told, prefer BMW or something Japanese: Harleys are junk.

    What business is McDonald's in? Business process. When someone buys a franchise from McDs, they're buying a way to do business and a name for the burger joint that they open.

    Estee Lauder was famous for saying that she was in the business of hope not cosmetics. She sold women the hope that they can look young and beautiful like her models.

    My point is that if Apple were a computer company, they'd be making the crappy margins that Dell and the other PC makers are making.

  8. Re:Full disclosure: I'm a Mac user by stewbacca · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ahhhh, you lost me at "real work". Nice try, but the "real people" use "real computers" argument ran dry about 5 years ago.