- Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently lost its distinction as the world’s most valuable company
- Saudi Aramco, a state-sponsored oil producer, dethroned the tech giant
- AAPL stock is up today despite this week’s news
This week Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) lost its nearly two-year status as being the most valuable company in the world. AAPL stock was usurped by state-sponsored oil manufacturer Saudi Aramco, which Apple actually passed in 2020 to become the no. 1 most valued company.
Apple is one of the casualties of a growth stock slowdown hitting a number of large-cap tech companies. Mounting concerns over red-hot inflation, further interest rate hikes and global supply chain hiccups have hammered away at tech stocks. It seems not even the Nasdaq’s star-child can avoid the turmoil.
Meanwhile, Aramco seemingly is thriving from rising oil prices stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has faced severe sanctions limiting its exportation of oil and natural gas. This has put substantial upward pricing pressure on fuel as the cost for barrels of crude oil skyrocketed. Brent crude is currently trading at a more than 50% premium compared to a year ago.
Aramco notoriously has a monopoly on crude oil extraction in Saudi Arabia. As such, the company has seemingly only benefited from the global supply pinch. Aramco stock is up more than 27% year to date. In March the company even announced doubling its full-year 2021 profit because of elevated oil prices.
Today, the oil titan recorded a near all-time-high market capitalization of $2.4 trillion, edging out the tech mainstay.
AAPL Stock Climbs Despite Losing No. 1 Status, Anti-Union Efforts
Apple is enjoying a surprisingly pleasant day in the market, however. AAPL is up nearly 3% as the S&P 500 eyes its first strong day all week, currently up 2.2%. The jump comes despite a recent headwind.
Apple has been dealing with blowback stemming from an apparently leaked anti-union memo. As obtained by Motherboard, an email was sent to heads of Apple stores and offered subtle warnings against a potential unionization effort.
“Many union contracts define and limit what a particular employee is allowed to do. I can’t speculate about what would happen to Career Experiences under a union—it would be subject to negotiations—but what if the contract restricted someone from doing any work outside a narrow job classification? That could mean employees wouldn’t be able to work in a different zone or pick up work as stretch assignments.”
Regardless, the bulls are still up on Apple stock today as the company enjoys the fruits of a rare upswing in the markets this month.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
