Apple became the most valuable publicly traded company after surpassing ExxonMobil in 2011.
Apple overtook ExxonMobil in market capitalization in August 2011, marking a major shift in the identity of the world’s most valuable listed company. Apple’s rise was powered by the iPhone, which had launched in 2007, and by the expanding iPad business introduced in 2010.
ExxonMobil represented the dominant position long held by large oil companies in global markets. Apple’s ascent showed how consumer technology could achieve a valuation greater than that of one of the world’s biggest energy corporations.
The ranking was based on market capitalization, not revenue or physical production. ExxonMobil remained a major company, and market-cap rankings can change as share prices, oil prices, interest rates, and investor expectations move.