Alphabet may soon dethrone Apple as world's most valuable companyJanuary 29, 2016 - 18:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - As the digital advertising market booms and demand for smartphones wanes, Alphabet Inc. could soon dethrone Apple as the world's most valuable company, the Associated Press reports. If it happens, Alphabet will move to the head of the class just five months after Google reorganized itself under the holding company. The Silicon Valley rivals could trade places as early as Friday, January 29, given how rapidly the financial gap between them is narrowing. At the end of trading on Thursday, Apple's market value stood at $522 billion; Alphabet was worth $515 billion. That's a dramatic swing from where things stood just 13 months ago. Apple then boasted a market value of $643 billion, almost twice Google Inc.'s $361 billion. Since then, investors have soured on Apple Inc. The company has struggled to come up with another trend-setting product amid slumping sales of its most important device — the nearly 9-year-old iPhone, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of Apple's overall sales. Apple has already acknowledged the iPhone will begin this year with its first quarterly sales decline since it debuted in 2007. The slowdown helped push down Apple's stock price by 15 percent since the end of 2014. In contrast, Google has maintained its leadership in the lucrative Internet search and ad market while building other popular products in video, mobile, web browsing, email and mapping. That bundle of Google services brings in most of Alphabet's revenue, and is expected to deliver growth in the 15 percent to 20 percent range as marketers shift even more of their budgets to digital services, AP says. Alphabet also has impressed investors by reining in its spending. Google hired a Wall Street veteran, Ruth Porat, as its chief financial officer last May. In addition to reversing a long expansion of Google's operating expenses, Porat also persuaded Alphabet's board to spend $5 billion buying back its own stock. That move signaled a more shareholder-friendly approach to managing the company's cash hoard. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | 17 bridges collapse as a result of floods in Armenia As a result of floods in Armenia’s northern Lori and Tavush provinces, 17 bridges, including five large ones, have collapsed. Armenia: Top cleric to retain title as he bids to become interim PM Galstanyan said earlier that the interim government would be tasked with stopping the “destruction of our homeland”. Ex-mayor of Karabakh capital arrested in Yerevan Ex-mayor of the Nagorno-Karabakh city of Stepanakert David Sargsyan has been arrested for 20 days. 269 people evacuated amid severe floods in Armenia’s north According to the Interior Ministry, 269 people have been evacuated from their homes in Lori and Tavush provinces. |