Apple surpassed ExxonMobil to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company in 2011.
Apple’s share price rose as investors responded to the success of the iPhone, iPad, and App Store. ExxonMobil had long occupied the top position because of its enormous oil production, refining, and global energy operations. Apple’s rise marked a major shift in the stock market’s leadership from traditional energy to consumer technology.
Apple’s market capitalization temporarily exceeded ExxonMobil’s in August 2011. The company’s growth was powered by products that combined hardware, software, and services in a tightly controlled ecosystem. The iPhone, introduced in 2007, was especially important to Apple’s expansion.
The ranking is based on public-company market capitalization, not total economic size or annual sales. Saudi Aramco later became one of the largest listed companies, but it was not publicly traded when Apple first took the top position in 2011.