Having reached $150 (again, after almost two months), Apple has surpassed HP (again, after two months) as the biggest computer company in the world, based on market capitalisation (total value of all outstanding shares), at $133 billion dollars, compared to HP, which is at $131B.

While this is not the first time it happened, it is very likely to be the last time, as it is unlikely that any future drops would be that serious to drag Apple stock down faster than HP.

When similar event happened with Dell, about 19 months ago, everyone paused to reflect on the significance; Jobs even wrote an internal memo to staff on that occasion. Well, Dell is now less than half the value of Apple.

The significance of the two events (Dell and HP market cap being surpassed within 18 months of each other) points to another milestone not in the distant future:

Intel: $152B
IBM: $158B
Google: $175B, and ultimately
Microsoft: $275B

If Apple continues to grow at similar pace, Christmas of 2009 (or MacWorld 2010) should be an occasion for a major celebration.

Good points, vasic. I only take issue with your characterization of Apple as a "computer company." It is, of course, much more than that now.

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Guest wrote:
Good points, vasic. I only take issue with your characterization of Apple as a "computer company." It is, of course, much more than that now.

That's how it's classified on Wall Street, based upon Apple's primary business (major source of revenue). HP & Dell both make TVs (and HP sells cameras), but they're still called "computer" companies. In the same vein, Canon is a "camera" company, though they also make printers and scanners.