“If you want to compare overall, then Apple easily wins.”
Most valuable company? There are many many companies that are more valuable.
According to this story - http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/29/technology/apple_valuable_companies.fortune/index.htm
Apple is the 4th most valuable in the US. Behind Exxon, Microsoft, and Wal-mart. Apple might be able to take over Walmart if their stock price shifts. They have no chance to take over Exxon.
Valuations can be fleeting though. As per this article AOL was work $163 Billion 10 years ago and is now work $2.7 B
That story has long since been surpassed, driftdiver... so why bring it up. Apple passed both Walmart and Microsoft a month after it was published... and is now the number two most valuable company in the world and climbing. So why claim that it isn't? That is just stupid. What it is worth now is what it is worth... not what it was worth at some time in the past. You clam there are many many companies that are more valuable... but APPARENTLY NO ONE BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE??? Name two.
Have you seen the recent FR post?
"The top five publicly-traded companies, based on full market values, are:"
1. Exxon Mobil (XOM) - $310.45B
2. Apple (AAPL) - $252.66B
3. Microsoft (MSFT) - $219.19B
4. Berkshire-Hathaway (BRKA) - 206.70B
5. Wal-Mart (WMT) - $193.28B
Passing Wal-Mart happened a while ago. Apple hit $200B back in March. $100B was only three years ago. It's only a matter of keeping up the rate, and even a much slower rate would still do it within a couple years. Whether Apple can sustain that kind of growth is the question.