Apple was the world’s most valuable publicly traded company by market capitalization in 2011 after overtaking ExxonMobil.
Apple surpassed ExxonMobil in August 2011 as investors continued to respond to the success of the iPhone and iPad. The shift symbolized a major change in stock-market leadership: a consumer-technology company had overtaken a long-dominant oil producer at the top of global equity rankings.
Apple’s market value had grown dramatically since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. The device combined a mobile phone, internet access, media functions, and a software ecosystem, while the App Store created a new source of recurring digital activity.
Rankings based on market capitalization are time-sensitive. ExxonMobil later regained the top position temporarily, and companies from other sectors subsequently led the global rankings. The 2011 milestone refers to the publicly traded-company ranking at that time, not to the value of all private or state-owned enterprises.