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Apple Is Now the Most Valuable Company In History

Posted by samzenpus on from the show-me-the-money dept.

derekmead writes "Apple, as of this morning, is valued at $621 billion, thanks to a stock price that spiked at $663.10 per share (and that has risen this afternoon). That finally beats Microsoft, who previously held the record for most valuable company in 1999 at $619 billion. Incredibly, Apple has almost doubled its valuation in the last year, when it topped Exxon-Mobil for most valuable American company with a valuation of $346 billion. It's not the cleanest comparison, but to give you an idea of how much $621 billion actually is, only 23 countries had a GDP higher than that in 2011. So, basically, Apple alone is worth more than what 200+ countries in the world could produce in an entire year."

20 of 398 comments (clear)

  1. Selll your stock. by Torinaga-Sama · · Score: 5, Funny

    Issac Newton knew a thing or two about apples. What goes up must come down.

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    (/local/home/curiosity)-#who -u|grep thecat|cut -c 44-49|xargs kill -9
    1. Re:Selll your stock. by Torinaga-Sama · · Score: 4, Interesting

      My pithy saying was gunning for +1 Funny, not +1 Insightful. I genuinely believe that Apple's influence has either peaked or is peaking. This doesn't mean that they aren't going to be the major player for a the foreseeable future. I find it unlikely that they will be able to maintain their rate of growth and if they start to grow much more vertically they are going to start getting a lot of unwanted government attention.

      Additionally, past the iPad there hasn't been a whole lot of innovation coming from them. They haven't showed up in the 7 inch market yet. That is not to see that they won't sell a bajillion iPad mini's when they drop, but that is going to come primarily from within the segment of the market that they already own. The iPod was a great device that had no peer so it got a ton of people on the platform. The iPhone was a great device that had no peer so it got a ton of people onto the platform. The IPad was a great device that had no peer so it got a ton of people onto the platform. The mini isn't even out yet but already there are bunch of peers on the market that work pretty darn well, so I think the opportunity there is missed. We will have to wait and see where Apple will be innovating from here out, but I am betting that there days of first to market are shortening.

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      (/local/home/curiosity)-#who -u|grep thecat|cut -c 44-49|xargs kill -9
  2. Re:If this article... by Wovel · · Score: 4, Informative

    Everything in the piece is a fact. There is no commentary on why this might be good or bad.

  3. Not adjusted for inflation, obviously. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you actually read right to the end of the article, it states that adjusted for inflation, Microsoft is still over $850 billion. So while Apple is a gigantic company, it hasn't broken any records.

    DISCLAIMER: I'm neither a PaidMicrosoftShill(tm) nor affected by the Apple Reality Distortion Field(tm)

  4. Inflation? by DarthBling · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm going to have to say no.

    Based in 2012 dollars, Microsoft's 1999 value of $619 billion would be equivalent to $851 billion today. Apple still has quite a ways to go.

  5. Re:If this article... by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's compare meaningful value.

    If Apple stops pumping iPods, iPhones and iPads tomorrow, what's the worst that will happen?

    If Exxon-Mobil stops pumping out oil and refining gas, diesel and jet fuel, what's the worst that will happen?

    I'm thinking maybe the metric being invoked here is inadequate to describe the two companies relative importance and thus their ultimate value.

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    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  6. Re:If this article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    If Apple stops pumping iPods, iPhones and iPads tomorrow, what's the worst that will happen?

    Mass riots of Fanboys would commence and might be worse then running out of gas.

  7. East India Company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What would be the value of the British east india company in today's dollars?

    1. Re:East India Company by iluvcapra · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Comparisons with the British East India Company are tricky, mainly because the BEIC was a government corporation. The BEIC flew its own flag, maintained its own military, engaged in private warfare, and it's credit was backed tacitly by the British crown -- more like Fanny Mae, it Fanny Mae was a trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund that owned half the real estate on the Asian continent, and had an air force capable of starving a city.

      Even Shell or Exxon aren't really comparable enterprises.

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      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    2. Re:East India Company by Spy+Handler · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Donno but the South Sea Company in 1720 made a second round of stock offering and sold 1 million shares at 400 pounds each. That's 400 million pounds.

      Adjusted for inflation that's about 720 billion pounds, or in US money:

      1.2 trillion dollars

      And that's not even the whole company

    3. Re:East India Company by fm6 · · Score: 4, Informative

      You're actually understating your case — shares eventually reached 1K. Then it became obvious that the company wasn't all that profitable and the shares lost about 90% of their value. Not likely to happen to Apple, of course, but it's a reminder of how investors can go crazy over a sexy stock.

  8. Not for long by oldhack · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Apple is replaying their history during 90s.

    It's eerie, really. Soon after Macs began its success, MS sold their graphical OS through just about all hardware makers, Apple sued and lost, and Jobs's got ousted, and Apple shriveled up. Just replace "ousted" with "died" and MS/Windows with Google/Android.

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  9. The secret to Apple's success by DRichardHipp · · Score: 5, Funny

    http://www.sqlite.org/apple-and-sqlite.gif ;-)

  10. Re:If this article... by nighthawk243 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If Microsoft stops supporting Windows, Office, and other software tomorrow; Business IT structure would probably collapse.

  11. This is just too funny by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Facebook, a nothing income company that hasn't even found a working business model: IPO for 100 billion. Apple, a maker of expensive shiny trinkets, the largest market cap on the street. Benjamin Graham would have a lot to say about times like these. I sure hope most of your money is in bonds right now because this next one is going to hurt even more than the last one. But go on chumps, keep buying into the bubble. It's going to go up forever and we'll all be rich!

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  12. Re:If this article... by CubicleZombie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let's compare meaningful value.

    If Apple stops pumping iPods, iPhones and iPads tomorrow, what's the worst that will happen?

    If Exxon-Mobil stops pumping out oil and refining gas, diesel and jet fuel, what's the worst that will happen?

    I think option #2 is best, I can live in an iMicrocosm, as long as I get clean air and water to breathe and drink.

    If Exxon stopped pumping oil, instead of a truck delivering your iPhone, it would be carried on the back of a Unicorn and floated gently down a rainbow to your doorstep.

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    :wq
  13. Re:If this article... by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Except the main premise: Apple is the most valuable company in history.
    If you decide that stock value is the true valuation of a buisness, even though that would be totally incorrect...
    and you decided that US Dollars, not adjusted for inflation...
    Then I suppose you could make this claim.

    But what is Apples value to the world compared to, lets say walmart? If apple and all its products vanished off the face of the earth right now... would it really cause a problem? If walmart closed all of its stores for just a month or 2... we'd actually have food shortages in many rural areas almost immediately. People would lose their homes due to the lack of a paycheck. Many smaller local business buy their inventories from walmart. Suppliers in China and India would have to lay off workers. Many people wouldn't be able to get prescriptions. Bug spray, insecticides, etc... could lead to increases in west nile and other disease. Literally 3 of the 4 horsemen... it's kind of funny really.

  14. Re:If this article... by jpmorgan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The thing about trends is they never end, until they do. Just because some people were wrong about Apple years ago, doesn't mean they're wrong about Apple today.

    Apple may be extraordinarily successful, but its success is based upon a product line that is:
    1. Almost entirely consumer driven, and
    2. Incredibly undiversified.

    That's an incredibly risky strategy. Most companies build successful long-term business by establishing well diversified product lines, or by building product lines and business relationships that establish long-term cash flow. Apple's bet their success on their ability to stay cooler than the competition. So what's a more likely scenario for 2022: that the world is still addicted to Exxon's oil, or that the iPhone 10 is still the hottest product on the market?

  15. Re:200+ countries? by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's Wikipedia's list of sovereign states. It lists 206, and separates them out nicely based on claims made against their sovereignty and the like. There are 203 sovereign states that are recognized by at least one UN member state, 2 that are only recognized by non-UN states but that have declared their independence and control some territory, and 1 that has declared its independence but is not recognized by anyone at all, despite controlling some territory.

  16. Re:If this article... by jbolden · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apple conducted a study on this.

    Among people who wanted to buy an iPhone and choose Android instead:

    Wanted to stay with current wireless service provider: 48%
    Trusted the Google brand: 36%
    Preferred larger screen: 30%
    Preferred the Android market for apps (Gmail, Google Docs, Google-Voice): 27%
    Wanted better integration with Google services: 26%
    Wanted the latest and greatest smartphone: 26%
    Wanted turn by turn GPS navigation: 25%
    Wanted the latest technology: 25%

    Conversely JD Power and associates did the opposite survey and found the number one reason people choose Apple was battery life. An area where they are only beaten by 1 RIM model as a matter of fact.
    #2 reason was Apple's high level of customer service after point of sale
    #3 better integration
    #4 singular vision
    #5 better sales staff (I'm assuming they mean Apple stores as contrasted with regular carrier based stores)
    #6 innovation

    I read those and they seem mostly true in both directions. I don't personally agree with the "latest and greatest" and "technology" arguments on Android but I can see where Android customers might view Apple as too conservative.