Apple has overtaken Microsoft in market capitalisation and has become the most valuable technology firm in the world.
Bloomberg reports that:
Apple’s market value reached $222.1 billion, surpassing Microsoft’s $219.2 billion at 4 p.m. New York time (26 May) in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.
Apple is now the most valuable technology firm in the world. By market value, it is the second-largest US company, behind Exxon Mobil Corporation, the oil company valued at US$278.6 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. During intraday trading, Apple’s price reached a high of US$252.13 billion.
From iPod (2001) to iPhone (2007) to iPad (2010)
Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy when Jobs returned at its helm in 1997. The release of the iPod music player in 2001 turned the company around, while the advent of the iPhone in 2007 has brought Apple to the pole position it is enjoying now. The question now is whether the launch of the iPad will bring Apple to new heights, or – if by any chance it flops – will it burst the market euphoria surrounding Apple’s stocks.
Hitherto, the iPad seems like another success story for Apple, but I believe it’s still too early to tell. It could still go the way of the tablet computers not too long ago – into oblivion – and join a rare list of Apple failures like the Newton. Or it could create a genuine and viable niche between the smartphone and the netbook, and let Steve Jobs overtake Bill Gates in Forbes’ list.
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