by , 11:05 AM EDT, July 11th, 2007

Apple's market cap rose from US$45 billion a year ago up to $114 billion today, surpassing both Dell and Oracle. Financial analyst Georges Yared expects Apple will continue to climb and overtake both IBM's $145 billion and Intel's $161 billion market caps within 18 months.

"Both [IBM and Intel] have high operating margins and world wide presence, but sustainable, long term double digit growth is questionable," Mr. Yared said at Seeking Alpha. "Apple's revenue and earnings growth for the next three years I expect at a solid 25 to 30 percent, and that is a conservative estimate."

Apple is in a strong growth position thanks to its strong product lineup that includes the Intel-based Mac which is gaining marketshare, the iPod with its 70 percent market share, the cross-platform Safari Web browser, and now the recently introduced and popular iPhone.

The Cupertino-based company also has a healthy and growing retail presence. "The Apple retail store system, almost 180 strong, is the highest-revenue-per-square foot retailer in the United States, period," he said.

Mr. Yared is estimating that Apple will earn $3.60 per share for fiscal 2007, $4.25 in fiscal 2008, and between $5.25 and $5.50 for fiscal 2009.

Apple is currently trading at $133.2278, up 0.8778 (0.66%).