The energy firm, one of the main oil producers in the world and the largest exporter, reached a value of $2.42 billionwhile Apple, with a sustained drop in its shares in the last month, was valued at $2.37 billionaccording to the news agencies Bloomberg and AFP.
Apple ranked first in market capitalization since 2012, displacing ExxonMobil, place that it has preserved ever since, except for brief periods where Microsoft and Aramco itself got that spot.
Except for Aramco, the top five spots in the most valued companies are made up exclusively of US technology companies: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), and Amazon, in that order.
The Saudi oil company benefited in recent months from the rise of more than 60% in international oil prices that at times exceeded US$130 after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine-and the impasse in the negotiations between the countries of the European Union (EU) to establish a total embargo on Russian crude oil, which boosted crude oil and energy papers in general.
The dethronement of Apple by an oil company reflects the latest movements in the world economy.
The firm from Cupertino, producer of the iPhone and the Mac, was, last January, the first company to reach a market value of US$3 billion, but since then the exit of investors from risky assets has especially affected technology stocks, which is a typical trend in times of economic uncertainty and rising interest rates, as the US Federal Reserve recently did.
In that sense, the Nasdaq, the Wall Street index that brings together these firms, fell 3.2% on Wednesday (with Apple shares losing 5.2% and reaching the lowest level since November last year), accumulating a loss of 12.8% compared to the levels of a year ago.
Added to these reasons is the fear that inflation, which in countries like the United States is at unprecedented levels since the early 1980s, will reduce purchasing power and, especially, in goods such as technology.
According to Tim Ghriskey, a strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, “There’s panic selling in a lot of tech, and the money coming out of it seems to be going into energy in particular, which has a favorable outlook for now, given commodity prices.”
“With the Fed on track to hike rates by at least 150 points this year and no prospect of a resolution to the Ukraine conflict, it may be a while before techs dominate again.”he added.
Aramco, whose profits for this first quarter will be announced in the coming days, had revenues of US $ 110,000 million in 2021, 124% more than in 2020, the year in which it was affected by the collapse in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, other energy companies have already posted record profits so far this year on rising oil and gas prices, with Shell taking in $9.1bn this quarter (vs. $3.2bn the same quarter). period last year), BP, $6.2 billion and $5.48 billion in the case of ExxonMobil.
In Apple’s case, while it posted its third-best earnings quarter ever to start this year; Its CEO, Tim Cook, has warned that component shortages and lockdowns in China could cost the company up to $8 billion.
Source: Ambito
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