After a record setting quarter that shattered Wall Street estimates, Apple is in a position to become the most valuable company in the world.The company announced on Tuesday that it sold 20.34 million iPhones and 9.25 million iPads in the second quarter of 2011, up by 142% and 183% respectively. That translated to a quarterly record revenue of $28.57 billion and a record net profit of $7.31 billion.
The result? Apple shares soared by more than 4% in after hours trading to $394. That translates to a market capitalization of $364 billion.
Despite that growth, Apple remains the second most valuable company in the world.
Last year, Apple surpassed Microsoft’s market cap and took the title of the world’s most valuable tech company with a market cap of $223 billion. Only one company exceeded its worth: Exxon Mobil, whose net worth at the time was $281.5 billion. Today, the oil giant is worth an astounding $412 billion.
Can Apple catch up with Exxon and become the world’s most valuable company? If Apple continues to post record-breaking earnings, it’s definitely possible. However, Exxon Mobil’s profits are soaring as well, and energy tends to perform better than consumer electronics in a stagnant or down economy (you don’t need an iPad, but you still need to drive your car).
Our verdict? These two companies are going to continue breaking revenue and profit records, but unless something drastic happens at Exxon or Apple, it may be some time until the technology company beats the oil giant.
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