Apple's market value briefly tops Exxon Mobil's

Apple Inc. briefly overtook Exxon Mobil Corp. to become the world's most valuable company on Tuesday, notching another milestone in a resurrection that has seen it transform from a maker of niche computers into a global consumer-electronics powerhouse.Apple reached a market capitalization of $343 billion at one point during the day's trading, while Exxon's valuation slipped to $334 billion. The moves changed the rankings of the top two companies, which had been separated by $50 billion in market capitalization a few weeks ago.
This changing of guard marks yet another achievement for Apple, which has captured both market share and popular imagination with products that are seen as both easy-to-use and elegant. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Steve Jobs, the company has expanded its business to include mobile gadgets, a move that has cemented its reputation for innovation and refinement. The move started with the introduction of the iPod portable music player, which helped popularize digital music by bringing a technology that had been the purview of enthusiasts to a mass audience.Later, the company invigorated the smartphone market with its iPhone and created the tablet consumer space with its iPad touchscreen device.Analysts say Apple is able to tap consumer desire by making its products both powerful and functional. The combination has moved many technologies mainstream and the company has used savvy marketing to generate consumer buzz."Never underestimate Joe Sixpack's need to buy the latest and greatest tech products," said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Gleacher & Co., of Apple's appeal. Marshall says Apple still has room to grow in many of its product lines and rates Apple shares a "buy." On Tuesday, Apple shares closed up 5.9% at $374.01 and Exxon shares closed up 2.1% at $71.64.Apple declined to comment. An Exxon spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple's growth has been stunning. Since the iPod was introduced in 2001, shares of the company have shot up nearly 4,000%. Since the 2007 launch of the iPhone, which leads the smartphone market in number of units shipped world-wide, shares have tripled. Exxon's shares, by contrast, have shrunk more than 7% amid a recent slide in oil prices.The technology company has remained strong even amid concerns about Jobs's health. The executive, who is more closely associated with his company than many other corporate leaders, is a cancer survivor and transplant recipient. He is currently on medical leave, but still appears at corporate events in public. Exxon isn't the first big company Apple has leapfrogged. A little over a year ago, Apple overtook Microsoft Corp., grabbing the title of the world's most highly valued technology company. While that status is largely symbolic, Apple's swelling market capitalization underscores the premium that investors assign to its stock. Apple is expected to report sales growth of more than two-thirds in its current fiscal year, which ends in September. The company's profits also are expected to rise more than 82%, according to a recent survey by Thomson Reuters. The company also has salted away huge chunks of its profit and boasts a cash hoard of more than $76 billion.

---