Apple Stock Surge Makes It World’s Most Valuable Company

Apple became the world’s most valuable listed company on Friday after its shares surged by 10 percent, ending the day with a record market capitalisation of $1.817 trillion (£1.3tn).

The tech company’s market value surpassed that of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco, for the first time since its market debut in Riyadh in December.  Aramco is currently valued at $1.76tn.

Apple had previously competed with Microsoft as the US’ largest public company.

In August 2018 it became the first publicly traded US company to attain a $1tn market capitalisation.

Covid-19 economics

Saudi Aramco raised about $30bn in its public offering, the largest in history, but crude oil prices have crashed this year due to decreased energy demand worldwide during the coronavirus pandemic.

Apple, meanwhile, has benefited as the pandemic has strengthened the market positions of the largest tech companies.

The company reported strong earnings on Thursday, showing increased revenue across all its categoriees and in every geography, boosted by an increasing number of consumers in lockdown turning to its products and services.

The revenue rise came in spite of Apple having to close most of its retail stores worldwide due to the pandemic, as well as other constraints introduced by Covid-19.

Chief financial officer Luca Maestri also confirmed rumours that Apple’s new portfolio of iPhones, usually released in late September, will be delayed by a few weeks.

Profits

For the period ending 27 June, Apple posted a net profit of $11.2 billion, up from a net profit of $10bn in the same year-ago quarter.

The share surge of slightly over 10 percent was Apple’s biggest one-day gain since 13 March and added $172bn to Apple’s market capitalisation, greater than Oracle’s entire stock market value.

With the latest boost, Apple’s shares have risen 45 percent during the year to date as investors bet that it and other major US tech firms will see long-term benefits from the pandemic.