Apple Inc. loses status as the world's most valuable company

Apple ended down 2.36 percent at US$439.88, giving it a market capitalization of US$413 billion, while oil giant ExxonMobil rose 0.36 percent to US$91.68 with a market cap of US$418 billion to edge into first place.

Apple first overtook ExxonMobil in August 2011 as the most valuable company in the world based on the value of its stock. A year later, Apple dethroned longtime rival Microsoft as the most valuable company in history based on the value of its stock at US$622 billion.

But the company took a bruising this week after a gloomy forecast accompanying its record quarterly profit announcement prompted pessimism over the tech giant's slowing growth trajectory.

Apple's profit was US$13.1 billion on revenue of US$54.5 billion in the fiscal quarter that ended on Dec. 29, with sales of iPhones and iPads setting quarterly highs.

But despite those figures, investors soured on Apple after it forecast that revenue for the current quarter would range from US$41-43 billion and that it would have a gross margin of 37.5 to 39.5 percent, lower than expectations.

Analysts remained cautious about Apple, which had seen a meteoric rise last September to over US$700 a share but slid 37 percent since then. The company shed some US$60 billion on Thursday and around US$10 billion more Friday.

Some express concern that Apple has lost its edge in innovation since the death of co-founder Steve Jobs, and is losing ground to rivals such as Samsung, which leads the mobile phone market, and to others using Google's Android operating system.

Jinho Cho at Mirae Asset Securities said Apple will likely increase carrier subsidies in 2013 and launch an “entry-level” iPhone to compete better in emerging markets.

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