Apple is now the world's most valuable company

Apple and ExxonMobil played market cap tag yesterday, but at market close today Apple has pulled ahead and is now the most valuable company in the world. Apple's market cap now stands at US$337.17 billion, over $6 billion more than Exxon's $330.77 billion market cap.

Market cap is only one way of measuring a company's value, and one could certainly argue that Exxon's chief product, petroleum, is a far more vital commodity to the world market than Macs, iPhones, and iPads. It's still a watershed moment for Apple, however, and the psychological impact of having the world's highest market cap is pretty phenomenal for a company that was on the ropes just 12 years ago.

Will Apple hold onto its spot at the top? It's impossible to say at this point, but unless Apple really stuffs something up in the near future, its competitors are going to have a hard time unseating Apple from its spot as the financial pinnacle of the tech industry.