Apple is currently the most valuable company in the world, but that crown could be about to pass to Alphabet (nee Google) for the foreseeable future unless it can deliver a new hit product.
On Friday, Alphabet’s equity value rose above $500 billion, putting it about $60 billion behind Apple’s market capitalization at the close of day. That might sound like a whole bunch of money – and it is – but long-term investments are about momentum, and investors are now classifying Apple alongside old tech behemoths like Cisco and Oracle, according to The New York Times.
The reclassification of Apple as a ‘value’ stock rather than a ‘growth’ stock (as annual gains have slowed) is based on the fact that Apple is projected to report around 3 percent growth for the last three months of 2015, versus the around 23 percent of a high-growth company like Netflix.
The change probably shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, and it’s hardly like being the second most valuable company in the world is a bad spot to be in, but the transition does show a lack of momentum around its product line, as each of its runaway hits has matured since being introduced.
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It’s not impossible that Apple could be reclassified as a ‘growth’ stock but if it wants to continue to show double digit revenue gains each quarter, it’s going to have to excite the world once again.
Either way, it’s not about to go out of business any time soon, and we’re still yet to see exactly what the company’s auto ambitions are. It also just reportedly hired a VR expert.
➤ Looking for Signs That Apple’s Runaway Growth Is Waning [The New York Times]
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