Apple Is Now the Most Valuable Company in History

Apple‘s valuation reached $621.64 billion Monday morning, making it the most valuable company in history.
The company’s stock reached an all-time high of $664.65 per share early Monday afternoon, following strong sales projections for its as-yet-unannounced next-generation iPhone device, the iPhone 5.
The record was previously held by another U.S. technology company, Microsoft, at its height in 1999.
Apple became the most valuable company in the U.S. when it reached a $346.74 billion valuation in mid-2011, topping Exxon Mobil for the first time. It surpassed Microsoft’s market capitalization in 2010.
Apple setting a record valuation now is especially impressive given the passing of co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs in October as well as its relatively modest price-earnings ratio: 15.57. Amazon, by comparison, has a P/E of 291.73, and even Facebook’s beleaguered stock is still trading at a P/E of 68.51.

Source: Mashable