Apple Loses Position as World’s Most Valuable Firm

Oil company Saudi Aramco overtook the tech giant to the position on Wednesday.

Down to Number Two

Apple has now lost its position as the most valuable company in the world. On Wednesday, Dhahran-based petroleum and natural gas company, Saudi Aramco surpassed it in valuation.

This is the first time in two years that the oil giant has reclaimed the top spot. It underpins the recent surge in the energy sector amid a huge drop-off in the tech industry.

The increase in interest rates has contributed to investors selling their shares in tech companies and moving to less risky areas. This has had a rub-off on the cryptocurrency market with many coins dropping to record lows. Bitcoin dropped to below $27,000.

On Wednesday, Apple shares fell by more than 5% on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). By the end of the trading day, the company had a stock market valuation of $2.37 trillion. 

In January, Apple became the first company in the world to cross the $3 trillion valuation milestone - with its shares rising to a $182.94 peak. At that point, it was worth about $1 trillion more than Saudi Aramco.

Since then, shares of the iPhone maker have dropped by almost 20%. In contrast, Aramco has seen its market capitalization rise to $2.43 trillion. It was supported by the 36% increase in the price of Brent crude this year.

Apple expects supply chain issues to affect its earnings in the next quarter.