Alphabet Inc. officially surpassed Apple Inc. as the largest company by market capitalization on Tuesday morning. The company’s shares rose more than 3% to $795 in high-volume trade, which gives its stock a valuation of $546.8 billion, versus Apple’s $530.9 billion market cap. This is the first time Alphabet has been valued higher than Apple since January 11, 2010, when they briefly crisscrossed. Apple surpassed ExxonMobil as the world’s most valuable company in 2011, and has held the title for more than four straight years. The oil giant has since been pushed down even further in the ranks by Microsoft Corp. , which is now the third most valuable company with a market cap of $430 million. Alphabet’s rise to the world’s most valuable company follows stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. The company’s shares are up 50% over the last 12 months, versus a 5% decline for the S&P 500.
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