Apple loses world’s most valuable company crown

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Apple shares extended their losses Friday, ending a miserable week for the California tech giant as it surrendered its position as the world’s biggest company based on market value.
Apple ended down 2.36 percent at $439.88, giving it a market capitalization of $413 billion, while oil giant ExxonMobil rose 0.36 percent to $91.68 with a market cap of $418 billion to edge into first place.
Apple first overtook ExxonMobil in August 2011 as the most valuable company in the world based on the value of its stock.
A year later, Apple dethroned longtime rival Microsoft as the most valuable company in history based on the value of its stock at $622 billion.
But the company took a bruising this week after a gloomy forecast accompanying its record quarterly profit announcement prompted pessimism over the tech giant’s slowing growth trajectory.
Apple’s profit was $13.1 billion on revenue of $54.5 billion in the fiscal quarter that ended on December 29, with sales of iPhones and iPads setting quarterly highs.