Apple Overtakes Saudi Aramco as Most Valuable Company in World

This past Friday iPhone maker Apple saw its shares move higher and it was enough to catapult the company to first place as most valuable company in the world.

The tech giant surpassed oil company Saudi Aramco on Friday, a day after releasing impressive fiscal third quarter earnings.

Apple shares closed up 10.47% Friday, giving it a market valuation of $1.84 trillion. Saudi Aramco, which had been the most valuable publicly listed company since its debuted in the market in 2019 had a market cap of $1.76 trillion at the close.

“Despite COVID-19 headwinds, Apple grew revenue in every segment and geography, beating consensus revenue by 14% as ecosystem engagement rises,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote on Friday.

The company posted quarterly revenue of $59.7 billion which was an increase of 11 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.58, up 18 percent. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

“Apple’s record June quarter was driven by double-digit growth in both Products and Services and growth in each of our geographic segments,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “In uncertain times, this performance is a testament to the important role our products play in our customers’ lives and to Apple’s relentless innovation. This is a challenging moment for our communities, and, from Apple’s new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to a new commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, we’re living the principle that what we make and do should create opportunity and leave the world better than we found it.”

“Our June quarter performance was strong evidence of Apple’s ability to innovate and execute during challenging times,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “The record business results drove our active installed base of devices to an all-time high in all of our geographic segments and all major product categories. We grew EPS by 18 percent and generated operating cash flow of $16.3 billion during the quarter, a June quarter record for both metrics.”

Apple’s Board of Directors also declared a cash dividend of $0.82 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 13, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 10, 2020.

The Board of Directors additionally approved a four-for-one stock split to make the stock more accessible to a broader base of investors. Each Apple shareholder of record at the close of business on August 24, 2020 will receive three additional shares for every share held on the record date, and trading will begin on a split-adjusted basis on August 31, 2020.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and have not been compensated for this article.