Alphabet, not Apple, is now the most valuable company in the world

By Brian Fung and Hayley Tsukayama

Alphabet — the company that owns Google — took over the title of the most valuable company in the world in after-hours trading on Monday, unseating Apple, and beating analyst expectations in its latest earnings report.
The search giant reported revenues of more than $21.3 billion in the fourth quarter, blowing past estimates by roughly half a billion dollars. Profit came in at $4.9 billion versus $4.7 billion for the same period a year ago. In its financial statement, Alphabet said it also saw $74.5 billion in sales for all of 2015, up from $66 billion in 2014. Shares jumped by about 5 percent in late trading Monday.
The most valuable companies in America are now squarely in the tech sector. Google and Apple are in a category of their own with market values of $543 billion and $535 billion respectively — heights never before reached in corporate history. Behind those two companies sits Microsoft at $433 billion. Facebook, at $328 billion, took fourth on Monday, surpassing Exxon Mobile ($318 billion).
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