Google’s just overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable company (again)
Google parent company Alphabet has surpassed Apple to become the biggest publicly traded company in the world in terms of market capitalisation after Apple shares fell below $90 for the first time since 2014.
The under pressure iPhone maker and the search giant have been vying to be crowned the most valuable company in the world in recent months, with Alphabet briefly overtaking Apple back in February.
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Apple shares dropped more than three per cent on Thursday, going as low as $89.47 per share, as it continues to suffer over worries about a sales slowdown.
Although Alphabet stock was also down, it left Google ahead with a market cap of $492.6bn (£340.8bn) while Apple was down to $492.2bn in early trading in New York.
However, the switch was short-lived, with Google shares dipping further to put it at a $487.6bn market cap compared to Apple's $489.2bn at pixel time.
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Apple's first slowdown in more than a decade has caused a 14 per cent slide in its share price since the start of the year, demonstrating that the tech giant is not immune from the wider slowdown which has also hit rival smartphone makers as the devices reach saturation point across the globe.
Goldman Sachs removed Apple from its conviction list while top investor Carl Icahn sold off his stake in the firm in the wake of its first quarter earnings last month.
Apple's decline has had a knock-on effect on other companies which supply the tech giant with parts. Taiwan's tech sector is set for its first declines since the height of the 2008 financial crisis with Apple's downturn contributing towards the slump, Nikkei Asian Review reports.