We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
APPLE IS NO longer the most valuable company in the world after shares continued their dramatic fall off the back of fourth quarter results before the close of business yesterday.
Oil company Exxon Mobil is once more the most valuable company in the world, regaining top spot after Apple shares fell by 2.4 per cent yesterday, which followed a 12 per cent drop on Thursday.
Shares have now fallen around 37 per cent since reaching a record high in September of last year. Apple had overtaken Exxon Mobil in August 2011 as the most valuable company in the world, based on its stock.
Exactly a year later the company became the most valuable in history – dethroning Microsoft – when its stock was valued at $622 billion or €462 billion
Apple’s profit was $13.1 billion on revenue of $54.5 billion in the fiscal quarter that ended on 29 December in results released this past week, with sales of iPhones and iPads setting quarterly highs.
But investors are spooked by revenue forecasts for this quarter which range range from $41-43 billion and that would have gross margin of 37.5 to 39.5 per cent, lower than expectations.
There are concerns that Apple has lost its edge in innovation since the death of co-founder Steve Jobs, and is losing ground to rivals such as Samsung and to others using Google’s Android operating system.
- with reporting from AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Oh no! Really? Apple’s not number one? That’s awful and hideous news.
First losing Steve Jobs and now this?
It’s such a crying shame.
I’m just imagining that sarcastic priest from father ted right there
You know it’s much more amusing from my point of view when you don’t point out the sarcasm.
Meow !!!!!
I know, I’m pettily complaining about his petty exposure of my petty sarcasm.
And your pet cat has wandered in.
Where’d ye get the iPhone from Ted? *smashes with sledgehammer* bunch of cowboys!
Yea but it’s much more amusing for me reading that in the sarcastic priest voice.
Oh, it’s all about you. That’s where I’ve been going wrong all these years.
Apologies ;)
So true
This is a prime example of why capitalism is dead. Profits are not enough, massive increases on profits, quarter on quarter, not even year on year anymore, are required to keep the idiots on Wall Street in bonuses. Unsustainable growth but we’ll keep pushing and pushing till it eventually collapses.
What on earth are you talking about. Capitalism is dead? This is capitalism in action!
The stock market doesn’t work like that either, a stock can have record profits and still fall in price.
Anyone with any sort of following of the markets knew that the stock was overvalued, mostly because the markets are filled with people who act on emotion, like the emotions of chickens.
Overvalued? Based on what metric?
If you look at the figures, Apple sold more iPhones last quarter than they ever did. However it just wasn’t as many as those self appointed experts on the tech industry on The Street predicted they’d sell.
Because, The Street obviously know loads way more about technology than anyone in The Valley. Try reading one of the Wall St. analysts predictions for Apple’s forthcoming product pipeline (Gene Munster, Ming-Chi Kuo) and the only thing reliable about them is how uniformly wrong they always are.
Apple never gave a shit about the street under Jobs. If you’re worried about pleasing the stock market the whole time you’re never going to take any risks for fear of wobbling the share price.
No surprise to see Exxon reclaim No.1 spot, sure haven’t they got plenty of cheap fresh supplies straight from their conquest of Libya.
They were never number 1 in phone. Samsung has the market by 32percent whereas apple had only 22 perceny.
Really.. 2 thumbs down for stating a fact. Apple maybe richest but samsung have the market. Simple as
Nokia… Samsung overtook Nokia to become the largest phone manufacturer last year. Might wanna fact check your facts there.
Phillip, at the end if the day, these companies are out to make big $$$. And Apple is winning in that sense.
The only reason Android have the market share is because of the wide range if cheap devices. It’s an unfair statement.
The forbidden fruit eh.I think there in trouble now for child labour sshhhhhhh though.But what would you expect from a company that’s owned by the Warburgs same guys who funded Hitler nice fellas oh also there up to their neck in the cause of the Financial Crisis super bankers who love it when you pay 555 quid for a phone .
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
And, according to your own Oscar Wilde, the highest form of intelligence.
As this study shows: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/may/23/psychology.science
“people with damage in the prefrontal lobe struggled to pick out sarcasm”.
A phrase coined by an American who couldn’t understand it.
Must be great to be so intelligent.
That, or have a really good search engine…
Just seen this leak of there new products , should help reclaim top spot . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw2nkoGLhrE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Genius.
The iPhone 5 was designed by beancounters to keep the cash rolling in,its sold by the bucketload but has damaged apple’s reputation for innovative designs,unless they go back to the drawing board with next iPhone Samsung will blow them away,windows already catching up iphone
Apple had a record quarter at the end of 2012 but their stock is down 15% since last week?
As another commenter said, Wall St have no clue on technology. Their predictions were ridiculous.
It’s not just the predictions for Apple, but even the estimates for Google were outrageous.
Kinda silly if you ask me!
Again, that’s not how the markets work. Stock prices are falling because people think that the company is overvalued, and now that it has hit record profits, investors fear that it has hit a peak.
The stock market does not work like an economy. Please don’t invest your money in it.
@Michael .. Imo, I don’t Apple is over valued.
When ANY company sells millions and millions of their products in one quarter, that company is going to be worth a lot. The only reason, in this case, Apple is down15% is because the company didn’t meet the ridiculous expectations of Wall St. That was my main point, the expectations of Wall St (with their poor knowledge of the technology industry)
It makes no sense that “the company is down 15% because it had a record quarter”.
It makes no sense. So clearly, they’re down due to Wall St expectations.
Any plz nobody start saying “Apple fan uhh” – not the case…. Just making a point.
Well Jack, it may not be your opinion that Apple shares were overvalued but it is clearly the opinion of the whole stock exchange that they were. In my opinion they’ve still got a way to go before they reach their real value. Makes sense that an oil company would be at the top once again. The whole world runs on black blood, only a few in comparison use tech products from Apple.
Jack it also had a lot to do with the general “Meh.”-ness of their recent product launches. (iPhone 5 being just a longer iPhone 4S etc)
Wall St don’t drive all demand… Retail investors and their 10 apple shares a piece outnumber Wall Street a hundred to one… Apple’s down for a number of reasons, the biggest is that a flagship product has entered the maturity stage of its life…
There’s a lot of uncertainty about Apple’s future and I think that’s why the stock is falling. As has been mentioned, they’ve only made slight iterations on their existing product lines and introduced mini models; there hasn’t been a game changer since the iPad in quite a while. Sure, there are rumours of an iTV but the longer that remains a rumour, the longer they lose traction as the market moves on to 4K HD TVs and the like.
Couple that with the fact that Android smartphone usage is exploding in India and China, where people don’t want to spend over the average monthly salary (as is the case in China) for an iPhone, and Apple is running out of options. There are strong rumours of a cheaper iPhone for the Chinese market only, which would be smart in the short term but could devalue the brand’s luxury image in the long term.
When you put that all together, holding onto or buying Apple stock is an uncertain investment.
They’ve still got €137bn in cash in the bank, revenue was up year on year, profits though we’re static compared to last year. Plus the absolute mess around the launch of the new iMac and unable to deliver or manufacture in big numbers to meet demand (I’ve been waiting 12 weeks for 27″ iMacs) and still another 4 to go for delivery, that severely hampered their forth quarter results.
Apple products are fantastic! Just way too expensive. Maybe they’ll get cheaper now!
Oil company Exxon Mobil putting prophet before people.
You tell ‘em Joe
Apple products are expencive and shit, Samsung make better phones and better tablets…. Duh, Samsung are higher in the market then those poxy iPhones
I work in a computer / mobile phone repair shop. And I must say, day after day we have Samsung phones coming in with major problems. I rarely see an iPhone come in with problems.
I’ve noticed that Apple have high quality products. They are some of the most reliable phones out there and their customer service is second to none.
You call Samsung, you get through to Egypt. Best of luck communicating!!
Where does GE stand in these rankings now?
The latest figures I can find placed them sixth by market cap after the third quarter figures.
“Apple profit of 13.1 billion with revenue of 54.5 billion ”
They must all be devastated in Apple coming 2nd !!
have your say