Apple sat atop the list of most valuable companies in the world for 12 months, but has been overtaken by Exxon Mobile. Apple stock has lost 17% of its value since the start of 2013 and over 37% since it became the highest valued company of all time in September of 2012. The decrease in stock price is the worst for any member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index this year. Exxon with its market capitalization of $418 billion now surpasses the $413 billion of Apple.
The drop off in value of Apple is representative of the loss in confidence of investors in the company, whose transformation from a small nearly bankrupt PC maker over 15 years ago to a leader of technology dominating both the computer tablets and smartphone industry, helped it become the world’s most valuable company during 2012.
Since the company became the most valuable business of all time at nearly $706 billion, the stock has lost nearly $245 billion in value. Even though the Cupertino, California based company has seen record sales for both, its iPads and iPhones, investors have started to get worried over the ability of the company’s management to produce new popular products just over a year after the company’s co-founder Steve Jobs died.
Samsung Electronics, the South Korea based electronics giant and other competitors have followed Apple’s lead into technological advances in touchscreen mobile devices. Those competitors are taking away market share from Apple by launching a broad range of handsets and flat tablets that have unique designs and vary in price from inexpensive to top of the line.
