Apple now world's second-largest company
Only $47bn short of oily #1
Apple is now the world's second-largest company, in terms of market value.
In after-hours trading on the US's tech-heavy NASDAQ market, Apple's share value hovered around $293 per share. At that level, Cupertino's market value comes in at over $267bn, surpassing the former number two, PetroChina, which is valued at a paltry $265.5bn.
As Bloomberg pointed out on Thursday when Apple briefly became number two before falling back to bronze-medal level later in the day, Exxon Mobil is still el numero uno, shuffling along at $314.4bn.
One analyst recently raised his target price for Apple stock to $390 per share. If he's correct, Apple will outshine its oily better by a cool $40bn or so.
Almost exactly 13 years ago, when asked what he would do to fix the then-ailing Apple Computer, Michael Dell famously told a crowd of IT execs: "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."
Dell's market capitalization is currently $24.6bn.
Oh, and before you ask: Microsoft, $214.4bn; IBM, $169.2bn; Intel, $108.1bn. ®
COMMENTS
AAPL is overvalued in the extreme ...
The current price/earnings (P/E) ratio is 23.71 ... Not what I would consider a good investment.
Market cap != Company Size
Journalists are very quick to throw around Apple's market capitalization as a figure of total company size. Market capitalization is simply one indication. It is more a market perception of value than an actual value/book value.
What a lot of people don't realise is that unlike most other companies, Apple does not pay dividends (and hasn't since 1995). This keeps it sitting on a huge cash reserve. Even given this huge cash reserve, the market cap is around 6 times it's book value.
Due to the lack of dividends, for a return on investment shareholders are far more likely to hold onto shares and that creates a somewhat artificial scarcity of shares and that in turn drives up the price. Due to the simple fact that Apple does not and will not pay dividends, a comparison of company size on market cap alone is not entirely fair.
I do not deny that Apple is a large company, but I do believe that it is quite over valued. In these times, many people are looking for a secure investment and typically companies with high market caps are considered to be quite safe, especially with Apple's 'Reality Distortion Field'. I think in Apple's case, it is too high and it could be set for a bit of a tumble.
But that is just my $0.02.
as someone
who is not a user nor a fan of apple products, I cannot deny the work that Steve Jobs has done.
Looking at it from a business point of view, 13 years ago, Apple were against the ropes with dodgy product lines and a business model people didnt want to be a part of.
Steve comes back and flips the company on its head.
Morally and ethically people could have issues with Apple. However, what about all the people that Apple have kept employed during these recent hardships, and no doubt have employed more in recent years.
If there is anything positive about Apple that I see, its that.
Well played Apple....I still wont buy your sh1t though :D
Um, no.
sorry, I dont follow the specious logic that gives the entire blame and credit for a company to the CEO. I refuse to demonise Bill Gates for the performance and business ethics of MS. I refuse to lionise Jobs over Apples turnaround. I refuse to demand the public lynching of Tony Hayward just because the Transocean fuckup happened on his watch. Life isnt as simple as "CEO = Jeebus".
so yes, If you cant see that the success of a company isnt wholly dependant on the presence of one man, then I can only hope the other conclusions you reach in life aren't as wrong as that.
Technical correction
>"Market cap doesn't tell anything about a company. It just measure how investor perceive it"
Since Apple doesn't pay dividends, it doesn't have investors, just speculators.
The important distinction is that an investor will tend stick with you, at least until the next dividend. A speculator will clear out the instant they don't think your share price is still headed upwards. When you *only* have speculators, that can make for some pretty spectacular changes in your cap.
