Apple Reaches $600 Billion in Market Cap (AAPL, MSFT, XOM)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) did something more important than just hitting a new 52-week high today.  It did something more important than hitting an all-time high today.  For a brief period Apple’s stock market capitalization rate hit the $600 billion mark this Tuesday.  Apple is by far the largest stock by market capitalization in the world now, but the previous record was held by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) back in the tech bubble when the market capitalization rate hit about $618 billion.  Amazingly, that is only about 3% higher for Apple and we are talking about a company where the shares have rallied a whopping 58% since the start of 2012.  BTIG’s analyst downgrade sure got swept under the rug quickly.

Microsoft is also up big this year so far, but its current market capitalization rate is “only” $260 billion and that is less than half of the value of Apple now.  Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is the second largest company by market capitalization with a market cap of $390 million.  So Apple is worth 1.5-times the value of Exxon Mobil.

JON C. OGG