Google briefly overtakes ExxonMobil as world's 2nd most valuable company

Both have nothing in common and do not operate remotely in the same industries --- one sells oil, the other information. But, both sell two of the most valuable commodities in this era --- oil and information. And both are jockeying for the No. 2 position in the stock market in terms of the size of their market capitalisation.

Internet giant Google yesterday briefly overtook energy giant ExxonMobil to become the world's second most valuable company after iPhone maker Apple.

The search giant's market cap rose to $393.61 billion in afternoon trading yesterday, while Exxon Mobil's market cap slipped down briefly to $390.15 billion, according to data from FactSet Research.

However, the fossil fuel producer rallied late in the evening to close with a market cap of $395.70 billion, just above Google, which closed at $395.42 billion.

But Apple, whose share price rose by 1.45 per cent yesterday on news of its $14 billion stock buyback, (See: Apple buys back $14 bn stock in two weeks after weak results) is sitting comfortably on top with a market cap of $464.03 billion. 

Shares of the world's top search company has more than doubled over the past one year, helped by rising revenues from Android, which has emerged as the most-sold mobile software in the in 2013.

Google's market capitalisation is now above that of Microsoft Corp and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Investors are now betting on online advertisements, which received a boost with the rise of social media and the rising popularity of smart phones.

Google, whose Android is the world's most-used mobile software and YouTube - the most popular video-streaming service, is growing at a fast pace although revenue from its biggest business, Internet search, has become sluggish.

Google's share price has risen by nearly 50 per cent over the past year, compared to just 1.7 per cent of Exxon Mobil.

Even in terms of cash reserves, Google has $57 billion as of the end of September 2013, while Exxon Mobil has $5.7 billion. (Apple, one of the shrewdest tech giant in Silicon Valley, holds around $146 billion despite its recent share buybacks.)

Although Google is about $70 billion behind the most valuable company Apple, some analysts predict that it will one day become the world's first trillion dollar company.