Apple becomes world’s most valuable company

Apple Inc

By Taiwo Okanlawon

American tech company, Apple has become the most valuable company in the world on Friday after posting blockbuster quarterly earnings that sent shares of the technology company up as much as 7%.

Shares of Apple reached $412 at Friday’s intraday high, putting the company’s market value at $1.762 trillion, dethroning the oil giant Saudi Aramco as the most valuable company in the world with market value, worth $1.759 trillion at Friday’s intraday high.

According to Bloomberg, it’s the first time the company’s valuation has surpassed that of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. Before that, Apple had vied with Microsoft Corp. for the title of the U.S.’s largest public company.The dethroning of Aramco comes after a tumultuous period for the Saudi company. Its initial public offering fell short of Crown Price Mohammed bin Salman’s expectations. The kingdom’s de facto ruler initially wanted a valuation of $2 trillion and to raise $100 billion. But after foreign investors balked at the pricing, the government settled on a smaller domestic offering and raised about $30 billion, still the largest IPO ever.

Then came this year’s plunge in crude prices as energy demand crashed with the spread of the virus. Aramco’s second-quarter revenue probably dropped to about $37 billion from $76 billion a year earlier, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s less than the $59.7 billion in sales that Apple reported for its most recent period.

Aramco’s stock is down 6.4% since the end of December, though that’s far less than the fall of other oil majors. Exxon Mobil Corp. has declined 40% and Royal Dutch Shell Plc has dropped 50%.

Apple, meanwhile, has benefited as the pandemic has strengthened the market positions of the world’s biggest technology companies, which boast strong balance sheets and fast-growing businesses thanks to an acceleration in the shift to digital services. The iPhone maker’s shares have gained 45% so far this year.

Comments

No mask, no entry at Abuja-Kaduna train stations: NRC

Ditechplanet today Inside the Kaduna Abuja train during the test run The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has declared its facilities and environs a no-mask no-entry zone in preparation for resumption of Kaduna–Abuja train service Wednesday Mr Pascal Nnorli, Manager, Abuja-Kaduna train service told newsmen that the corporation has put measures in place to ensure passengers obeyed all COVID-19 guidelines on the trains. “We are 85 per cent ready because we know a day like that will come.“If you pass through our station at Idu today, you will see a demo of what we intend to do in all the stations. “You can see the social distancing marked at strategic locations.Now we have a definite date for resumption, we will complete them in all the passenger stations. “Again, the first thing we are going to do is to decontaminate all our running stock, because we have parked them for a while, almost four months now and also decontaminate our stations and our offices . “You can see on board we have s...

PSG sweep all French trophies for 2019-20

PSG team: make a clean sweep of French trophies Paris Saint-Germain(PSG) have won all domestic French trophies for 2019-20, after beating Lyon 6-5 in penalty shoot-out in the last ever Coupe de la Ligue final. Keylor Navas and Pablo Sarabia wrapped up the victory in the penalty shoot-out after 120 goalless minutes. Thomas Tuchel’s men had already clinched the Trophee des Champions, Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.Despite the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappe on Friday, PSG just about did enough to see off Les Gones. While both sides crafted several half-chances, the match’s tempo resembled that of a pre-season contest as opposed to a cup final, and PSG – who were 1-0 victors in last weekend’s Coupe de France showpiece – perhaps unsurprisingly looked a little sharper. A flurry of activity towards the end of the opening 45 minutes was not sustained in the second half, with the match appearing destined for extra-time long before the regulation 90 expired. Rafael da Silva’s 119th-minute...

30 Nigerian ladies in Lebanon appeal for rescue

The girls Some 30 Nigerian ladies trafficked to Lebanon are appealing to Nigerian Government to rescue them as they are stranded in that country. They made the appeal in a statement by the President of Journalists International Forum for Migration (JIFORM), Mr Ajibola Abayomi on Saturday. Abayomi said that the message was being relayed based on an encounter with the victims, which necessitated the call for a speedy rescue action from government. “JIFORM has forwarded details of the human trafficking agents involved in this matter to the relevant agencies and shall monitor it to the logical conclusion to ensure proper investigation and prosecution of those involved.’’He said that the ladies were all camped in one room with faulty toilet and other utilities, and were presently housed in a building at Dawra city in Lebanon. Abayomi said one of the victims, Miss Adebisi Comfort-Oluwatoyin with Passport No. number A10597908, disclosed to JIFORM that they had to escape from the inhuman treat...

DITECH PLANET

Search This Blog