Apple surpassed Saudi Aramco as the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization in July 2020.
Apple moved ahead of Saudi Aramco in July 2020 as its share price climbed during a period of strong investor enthusiasm for technology companies. Apple’s market value was supported by its consumer-device ecosystem, services growth, and expectations for long-term expansion.
Saudi Aramco had held the leading position after its 2019 listing, benefiting from its enormous oil reserves and scale. Market leadership can change even when the underlying businesses are very different because share prices reflect changing expectations about growth, profitability, risk, and economic conditions.
This comparison also illustrates why “most valuable” needs a definition. Market capitalization measures equity value, while enterprise value includes debt and excludes cash; revenue and assets are separate measures.