Apple's market capitalization is now above $300 billion, according to Fortune. Market capitalization is the number generated by the stock price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. Apple passed Microsoft as the most valuable tech company in May 2010.
Analysts are expecting Apple to set new sales records for Q4 2010, and that's definitely being reflected by the stock price. Apple will report their fiscal first quarter results on January 18, 2011.
Apple is the second most valuable US company. The only other company above $300 billion is Exxon Mobil, which has a market capitalization of $375 billion. Exxon's stock has been surging since April 2010.
Apple's stock took almost 23 years of trading to top $100 billion in market cap. That was in May 2007. The next milestone, $200 billion, came less than three years later, in March 2010. 10 months after that, Apple hit $300 billion.
Now it's time for some predictions. Will Apple pass Exxon Mobil's market capitalization and claim first place in the US? If not, what do you think will happen in the stock market world in the next few months?