Apple now worth more than Google and Microsoft combined - Apple Insider

Apple now worth more than Google and Microsoft combined [u]

By Neil Hughes

Published: 11:12 AM EST (08:12 AM PST)

First on AI: Apple's stock soared to new heights on Thursday, pushing the company's market capitalization to $456 billion, a number that is greater than the values of rivals Google and Microsoft combined.

As of Thursday morning, Microsoft's market cap was around $256.7 billion, while Google was valued at around $198.9 billion. With Apple's stock up more than 3 percent in morning trading, the company surpassed the combined totals of both Google and Microsoft.

The milestone comes soon after Apple reported its best quarter ever, earning $13.06 billion on sales of 37 million iPhones, 15 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs. Total revenue for Apple's holiday quarter was $46.33 billion.

But Google's shares fell more than 9 percent last month after the company missed expectations on Wall Street for both earnings and revenue. And while Microsoft met Wall Street expectations, revenue from its Windows operating system fell 6 percent to $4.74 billion.

Apple's market capitalization passed Microsoft alone in May of 2010 when the iPhone maker's value hit around $222 billion. And last August was the first time that Apple passed Exxon to become the world's largest company by market cap, then with a value of $346.74 billion.

As of Thursday morning, Apple was well ahead of Exxon Mobil, which had a market cap of around $402 billion. That put Apple at a value of more than $50 billion more than the oil giant.

With AAPL stock north of $490, some Wall Street analysts on Thursday began increasing their price targets for the iPhone maker. Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company upped his estimate from $540 to $620, while Mike Walkley with Canaccord Genuity raised his target on AAPL shares even higher, to $665.

Update: Fortune has posted a few comparative metrics to AAPL's valuation and finds that the company is now worth more than the gross domestic product of Sweden ($458 billion), all the gold in the Federal Reserve ($350 billion), and more than 2.5 Apollo space programs ($145-$170 billion apiece), among others.

*Instant 3% AppleInsider Reader Discount Applied When Adding Items To Your Cart

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs did serve on White House council in '90s
Swiss company seeks iPhone, Apple TV ban over alleged patent infringement
Apple looks to end Motorola patent attack in Germany with U.S. suit
Apple now offers basic 13-in. $999 MacBook Air to education buyers
Apple lodges new suit against Samsung over autocorrect, screen unlock
Apple to disrupt notebook space with radically redesigned MacBook Pros
AT&T's 4G-compatible micro-SIM cards prompt speculation of LTE 'iPad 3'
2%-3% dividend suggested as best use of Apple's $100B in cash
German court dismisses Motorola's 3G-related suit against Apple
Motorola puts blame on Google for lag on Android updates
Apple again highlights Siri with new 'Road Trip,' 'Rock God' iPhone 4S ads
iTunes customers facing mysterious account hacks, disappearing gift card money
Apple said to be in 'crunch mode' to ready 'iPad 3' apps for on-stage demos, ads
Google reportedly working on wireless home entertainment system
Samsung Galaxy 10.1N cleared for sale in Germany
Inside Sandboxing: how Apple plans to make the Mac App Store as secure as iOS
AT&T throttling unlimited data users starting at 2 GB per month based on location
Apple employee says upcoming iPad 3 to have "truly amazing" screen
Workers' rights petitions delivered to Apple's Grand Central store
US NOAA ditches BlackBerry, chooses Apple's iPhone and iPad
FBI file on Steve Jobs reveals he was considered for White House position
Apple now worth more than Google and Microsoft combined [u]
Apple exploring 3D frame-of-reference iOS interface based on eye, light location
Apple said to hold 'iPad 3' event first week in March
Pictured Sharp LCD panel claimed to be Retina Display for Apple's 'iPad 3'
Leaked photo allegedly shows outside back cover of Apple's next iPad
Alleged Foxconn hack allowed bogus orders to be placed for vendors
White MacBook sales come to close as Apple ceases sales to education institutions
Google says it won't support fair licensing in open standards as Apple, Microsoft, Cisco have
Cisco backs Apple's ETSI request for fair and open licensing of standards patents
Doubts cast on likelihood of quad-core A6 CPU in third-gen iPad
Path apologizes, offers opt-out for address book uploading
iTunes Match generates 'magic money' for music copyright holders
Siri rumored to gain support for Mandarin, Japanese and Russian in March
US Air Force may buy 18,000 Apple iPads for cargo aircraft
Purported 'iPad 3' back panel shows space for larger battery, new LCD
Worker abuse petitions to be delivered Thursday at Apple's Grand Central store
Microsoft joins Apple in pledging support for injunction free, FRAND patent licensing
iPhone best at retaining resale value and offers lowest total cost of ownership
iTunes-sponsored live Paul McCartney concert to stream for free on Apple TV


Louis Vuitton Handbags
Louis Vuitton Outlet
lv bags