What’s that? The number of the Beast?! You betcha. Throw some goats, crank up some Gorgoroth, and party like Apple’s worth more than Microsoft was in its heyday!
Kvitrafn, of Gorgorth
Photo Credit: Peter Beste (altered with permission)
If it happens, that is. There’s certainly no guarantee that it will.
First, the numbers: Apple is currently worth $585.9 billion, and is the world’s most valuable corporation. Microsoft, while worth a measly $255.7 billion at the close of trade on Tuesday, was once valued at $621 billion, the highest valuation ever. That was at the close of trading on December 30th, 1999, as noted by The Wall Street Journal.
Apple currently has 932.4 million shares outstanding, which means that for Apple to be valued at $621 billion, the company’s stock would have to hit $666.
And two cents. But, really, $666.02 is nowhere near as much fun as $666. In addition to that, there are various and sundry odd shares outstanding after the decimal that effect the final number, but $666!
Another fun factoid is that at the bottom of the stock crash of 2008, the S&P bounced off a multi-year low of 666. That was March 9th, 2009, for those keeping score at home.
Please note that we don’t actually think any of this matters, but in popular culture, “666” has come to have all manner of implied significance, and we thought it would be fun to mention it.
One more note. AAPL closed at $628.44, down $7.79 (-1.22 percent), on heavy volume of 31.7 million shares trading hands. The stock spent the morning in positive territory, peaking at a record $644 per share, only to give back those gains, and then some, as the rest of the markets were dragged into the red. At that price, Apple crossed the $600 billion valuation for the first time.
One last note: Jim Tanous noted in TMO Towers East that in absolute terms, Apple’s market cap would need to hit $848.6 billion to equal Microsoft’s 1999 valuation in absolute terms. That accounts for 39 percent inflation since 1999, as provided by CoinNews.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a tiny, almost insignificant share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.