Apple is no longer the most valuable company in the world

Saudi Aramco, the world’s most valuable company, surpassed Apple on Wednesday.

According to FactSet, which converted Aramco’s market cap to dollars, the company was valued at slightly under $2.43 trillion on Wednesday. Apple is currently valued at $2.37 trillion, after falling more than 5% in US trading on Wednesday.

Energy stocks and prices have been climbing as investors sell off companies in a variety of industries, including technology, due to concerns about the economy. Since its peak of $182.94 on January 4, Apple has dropped roughly 20%.

Although the move is largely symbolic, it demonstrates how markets are evolving as the global economy grapples with rising interest rates, inflation, and supply chain issues.

Despite posting better-than-expected profits in the first three months of this year due to robust consumer demand, Apple’s stock has dropped. However, Apple warned that the China Covid-19 shutdown and other supply chain issues will cost the company $4 to $8 billion in the June quarter.

Following other Big Tech peers’ setbacks, the findings appeared to be positive, as growth from stay-at-home demand during the epidemic declines and corporations face growing operating and labour costs.

Saudi Aramco announced a 124 % increase in net profit for the previous year, just hours after Yemeni militants attacked its facilities, inflicting a “temporary” decrease in output.

“Aramco’s net income grew by 124 % to $110.0 billion in 2021, compared to $49.0 billion in 2020,” the business reported, as the global economy began to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

So far in 2022, Aramco stock has gained nearly 27%. Due to rising oil prices, the oil giant stated in March that its full-year profit more than doubled last year.

In 2020, Apple will surpass Saudi Aramco as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.