Apple (AAPL) declined $63.51 today, or 12.35%. This translates into a loss of $65.8 billion in market cap. To put this loss into perspective, there are 459 companies in the S&P 500 that have a market cap less than $65.8 billion, and the 130 smallest stocks in the S&P 500 have a combined market cap that is less than what Apple lost today. Since Apple’s market cap peaked at $658 billion on September 19th of last year, the company has lost $235 billion in market cap. There are only three stocks in the S&P 500 that have a market cap greater than what Apple has lost over the last four months (XOM, GOOG, BRK/a). Pretty astounding.
In early 2012, Apple eclipsed Exxon Mobil in size to become the biggest company in the world. By late 2012, Apple was worth more than $200 billion than Exxon. How quickly things have changed. After today’s decline, Apple is now worth $423 billion, which is just $6.5 billion more than Exxon Mobil. If Apple declines another 1.55% (with XOM staying where it is now), Exxon will once again be the biggest stock in the world. This is where the tortoise catches up with the hare.
