Apple Challenges Exxon Mobil As Most Valuable Stock by Market Cap (AAPL, XOM, MSFT)

It is amazing what a move Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has made over the last decade.  Now it carries a new title…. MOST VALUABLE COMPANY, or at least it is fighting for it.  Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) has been the world’s largest company for quite some time.  That appears to be inverting now.

Apple’s share count per Google data 927.09 million, giving a $341.06 billion market cap.  Exxon Mobil was listed as having 4.86 billion shares per Google data, giving a $341.51 billion market cap.  The time stamp is what would cause a discrepancy of this sort, but another issue has likely contributed to this over and over:  During the second quarter of 2011, Exxon Mobil repurchased 67 million shares of common stock at a gross cost of $5.5 billion, with $5 billion used to lower the share count and the balance to offset shares issued in benefit plans and programs.

Exxon further noted at its last earnings that it also anticipates spending $5 billion in the third quarter of 2011 for share buybacks.  In short, more shrinkage because Exxon Mobil uses that to retire shares.

This data may be a bit distorted as result of the buybacks, but this sure creates a changing of the guard.  As far as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), its market capitalization is now all the way down at about $207 billion.  What a difference a year or two can make.

For a final reference, we wanted to compare the most recent quarterly sales data: Exxon Mobil had sales of $125 billion versus $28.5 billion in sales by Apple.  Still, Apple is on the path to be the first corporation with $100 billion in cash on its books.

JON C. OGG