Alphabet passes Apple as the most valuable company on Earth

Google’s parent company, Alphabet (GOOG), is now the most valuable company in the universe, with a market cap of about $570 billion in after-hours trading after reporting a stronger than expected Q4 FY2015 earnings report. This appears to be the first time Google’s value has exceeded Apple’s since 2009.

Apple (APPL), by comparison, is now valued at $534.66 billion, while Microsoft (MSFT) is worth $432.72 billion; Exxon (XOM), $317.59 billion; Facebook (FB), $327.41 billion; and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), $317.15 billion. Of course, Apple may take back the lead at any moment, as investor confidence swings during earnings season. We’ll update this story if and/or when that happens.

Numerous factors led us to this moment today, including one fear among investors: that Apple’s iPhone sales momentum has peaked, sales will decline, and Apple must to reinvent a new category and find explosive sales to return to its former glory.

In short, some investors think Apple has to do what it did with the iPhone to something else in order to stay on top. Hey, what about virtual reality?

Now’s probably as good a time as any to mention that Alphabet reportedly paid Apple $1 billion to stay on as the iPhone’s default search engine in 2014; Apple reported “the most profitable quarter of any company in history” last year; Apple exceeded that record last month; there are now 1 billion active iDevices as of Q1 2016; and in June, Apple topped Fortune’s list of the most profitable companies in the Fortune 500.

In short, not everyone is worried about Apple.

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