Apple keeps on growing! Steve Jobs' empire set to become world's most valuable company
Apple is set to become the world’s most valuable company this year, financial analysts said yesterday.
It is predicted to leapfrog the current number one, oil giant Exxon Mobil, capping a remarkable rise for the gadget firm, which is thriving on sales of Mac computers, iPhones, iPods and now iPads.
Shares in Apple are predicted to rise a staggering 32 per cent over the next 12 months, driving the company’s market value up to £269.5billion.
Rising shares: Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the launch of the iPad last year. 14.8m of the devices have since been sold, pushing the company's value up to £269.5billion
That is tipped to be sufficient to overhaul Exxon, currently valued at £263billion, even taking into account that its value is also set to increase, with rising oil prices likely to drive up its profits.
The rest of the top ten is dominated by mining and energy heavyweights, along with Apple’s long-time rival Microsoft, now trailing behind a firm it used to beat easily.
Apple reported its best ever quarterly results last month, continuing its relentless rise up the list of the world’s biggest companies.
Where the magic happens: Apple, which is thriving on sales of Mac computers, iPhones, iPods and now iPads, is based in Cupertino, California
In the last three months of 2010 alone, it sold 3.89million Macintosh computers, 14.1million iPhones, 9.05million iPod music players and 4.19million iPad tablet computers.
The better-than-expected figures for iPhones – which benefited from an expansion of their U.S. network – and iPads caused many analysts to upgrade their 12-month
predictions for Apple’s share performance.
Although Apple suffered a momentary setback when shares plunged early last month after CEO Steve Jobs said he was taking a medical leave of absence, experts remain bullish over its prospects, saying it has only just begun to exploit the international market.
Cool and quirky image: Apple's iPod preceded the colourful iPod Minis and Nanos, which proved a hit with millions of customers
BRAINS AND BEAUTY: THE APPLE MAGIC
Intuitive, high-performance products with a sleek aesthetic have made Apple a favourite with gadget fans and technophobes alike.
Though Steve Jobs founded the company, he resigned from the board of directors in 1984. He returned as CEO in 1997, dramatically streamlining the company's product offering.
The first product to launch after his return would set the scene for things to come.
With its colourful bubble-shaped monitor, the iMac G3 was a sexy design at an accessible price point.
But it was the launch of the iPod portable media players in 2001 that opened the doors to a whole new customer base.
Quirky advertising campaigns and celebrity endorsement paved the way for spin-off products including the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle, while the iTunes music store became equally popular.
Today the iPhone (launched in 2007) and the iPad (launched 2010) are the company's must-have products, though a thinner, lighter follow-up to the iPad is already rumoured to be in production.
‘Analysts are as giddy as you can be, but Apple just keeps surpassing those numbers,’ said Pete Najarian, co-founder of stock market website TradeMonster.com.
Although it has long cultivated a unique reputation with a loyal customer base devoted to the ‘cool’, quirky brand and aesthetically pleasing design, it is only in recent years that Apple has transformed into a sales juggernaut.
Founded in California in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, it grew in the shadow of Microsoft and was given up for dead a decade ago but surpassed the PC giant last May to become the world’s most valuable technology company.
Its rise is likely to be boosted with a thinner, lighter and souped-up version of its iPad tablet computer that is reportedly already in production.
Some experts expect the company to sell as many as 35million iPads this year, more than doubling last year’s 14.8million sales.
However, Apple’s latest success comes just months after it was accused of exploiting workers, with a spate of suicides among workers at manufacturing plants in China.
Fourteen workers at the Foxconn Technology Group factories, which make iPhones and iPads for Apple, killed themselves last year amid complaints of ill-treatment, causing Apple to launch an investigation.,,
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