Apple Vs. Exxon: The Fight For Number One, By The Numbers

Apple briefly surpassed Exxon as the most valuable company in the world on Tuesday.

Experts predicted it was bound to happen soon, though estimates initially pegged autumn as the time when Apple would leapfrog Exxon's market capitalization.

Apple's rise has been fast and impressive: Less than a month ago, Exxon was worth $60 billion more than Apple, as TechCrunch notes. And in 1996, Apple was nearing bankruptcy.

Here's a look a brief look back at how the two companies compare, by the numbers:

$338 billion: Apple's market cap on Tuesday prior to 2 PM ET.
$337 billion: Exxon market cap on Tuesday prior to 2 PM ET.

$346.7 billion: Apple's estimated value by the end of trading on Tuesday
$348.3 billion: Exxon's estimated value by the end of trading on Tuesday

$300 billion: Apple's market cap, January 3, 2011
$368 billion: Exxon's market cap January 3, 2011

$630.9 million: Apple's lowest-ever market cap, post IPO (July 8, 1982)

$7.31 billion: Apple Q3 2011 net income (quarter ended in June)
$10.7 billion: Exxon Q2 2011 net income (quarter ended in June)

$28.6 billion: Apple Q3 2011 revenue (quarter ended in June)
$125.5B: Exxon Q2 2011 revenue (quarter ended in June)

83,600: Total number of Exxon employees
46,600: Total number of Apple employees

1997: Year Apple CEO Steve Jobs assumed his current position (though he co-founded the company in 1976).
2006: Year Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson assumed his current position.

$420,000: How much an Apple employee makes the company in 12 months

Comments

[theuniversalcollective]

02:32 AM on 08/10/2011

sell

[MyTake]

08:31 PM on 08/09/2011

There is no comparison here.

Apple made its profit legitimately from sales, marketing and cheap Chinese Communist labor.

On the other hand, Exxon made its profits from insider information, stock market manipulation, using the Irish Income shifting TAX AVOIDANCE scam to pay no U.S. Federal Taxes along with receiving massive CORPORATE WELFARE (subsidies) from the GOVERNMENT.

It's the American way and that 4000+ page highly corrupted tax avoidance IRS tax code which propels the Corporate State in America should be abolished and replaced with two lines denoting the PERSONAL and BUSINESS Federal Income Tax Rates - NO EXCEPTIONS!

Then no one would hear of these Corporations and the Government would BE DEBT FREE!

[mgabrys]

07:32 PM on 08/09/2011

I wonder how much cash on-hand Exxon has. Apple is on track for 100 billion (oh you thought that cap was overvalued? How about only 3x - instead of other's 20-200x valuations on base, and that's not even counting speculations on revenue (which for many don't exist))

[FredDerf]

07:42 AM on 08/11/2011

I don't know, but how many $75 ~ $100+ barrels of oil does Apple have on hand?

[JFranco]

07:20 PM on 08/09/2011

Unbelievable considering I remember when Apple was a nano-meter away from bankruptcy. The smartest thing the board did was bring back Steve Jobs.

[theveggiedude]

10:17 PM on 08/09/2011

All the credit should go to Apple CEO Gil Amileo - it was the one good thing he did while there.

[blyan]

06:06 PM on 08/09/2011

So.... Apple isn't really the most valuable company, as Exxon passed them again.

[theveggiedude]

10:15 PM on 08/09/2011

It happened when Apple passed Microsoft, and Google and Walmart. There is always bouncing up and down in the market. In another 2-3 months, Apple could possibly be well ahead of Exxon.