Apple Is Now the World's Most Valuable Company

Apple is officially the world's most valuable company. On Friday, the tech giant's market valuation hit $1.84 trillion, eclipsing state oil giant Saudi Aramco's $1.76 trillion which had previously been the most valuable publicly listed company since its market debut last year according to CNBC. Apple, along with Amazon, Facebook, and Google parent company Alphabet all reported their second-quarter numbers on Thursday, revealing strong earnings despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Apple in particular has shown a strong comeback during the pandemic. Thursday's numbers saw shares go up more than 44 percent this year following its pandemic low in March. The company has also reported an 11 percent year-over-year growth and announced a 4-for-1 stock split.

As for what helped Apple record its blockbuster earnings, that can be attributed in part to the sale of Apples iPad and Mac computers. Analysts at Piper Sandler noted that remote working and remote learning in response to COVID-19 have prompted strong online sales for both families of devices, noting that they are "actually benefitting nicely". Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that the company has definitely been boosted by the sales.

"We see both of those likely picking up share," Cook said. "We have the strongest product lineup in both Mac and iPad that we've ever had. It's the combination of those two things coming together at the same time that are producing the results."

Cook also noted awareness that Apple's results were in "stark relief" to the economic struggles other businesses have faced during the pandemic.

"We're conscious of the fact that these results stand in stark relief during a time of real economic adversity for businesses large and small, and certainly for families," Cook said.

However, things aren't all smooth sailing for Apple. The company revealed during an earnings call that the launch of the upcoming iPhone 12 will be delayed, by at least a few weeks. Apple generally unveils its new iPhones in September and ships the devices by month's end, though previous releases -- including the iPhone X and the iPhone XR in 2017 and 2018 respectively both saw delays between announcement and shipment to stores.

"Last year we started selling new iPhones in late September, this year we expect supply to be available a few weeks later," Apple CFO Luca Maestri said in the call (via The Verge).

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