Apple overtakes Saudi Aramco to become world's most valuable company

The day after an incredible earnings report, Apple has overtaken oil giant Saudi Aramco to become the most valuable public traded company in the world on Friday.

Following the company's earnings report Thursday, Apple's stock price surged as high as 10.5% in intraday trading. Ultimately, shares of AAPL closed at $425.18 at end of trading on Friday.

Altogether, that give Apple a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, based on share price and number of outstanding shares. That allowed Apple to close with a market valuation higher than Saudi Arabian oil juggernaut Saudi Aramco, which has held the number-one spot since it went public last year.

The Cupertino tech giant reported earnings on Thursday that smashed Wall expectations, with revenue clocking in at $59.7 billion even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Apple also announced a four-for-one stock split that could make AAPL more accessible to a broader range of investors.

Following the earnings report, Apple's share price passed the $400 price-per-share milestone.

Apple is already in the top spot when it comes to U.S.-based publicly traded companies. Earlier in 2020, the company also became the first U.S. firm to pass the $1.5 trillion market valuation milestone.

Shares of Apple have proven themselves resilient, even during COVID-19. In the June quarter, Apple's iPhone segment actually grew 2% year-over-year even as smartphone sales are on the decline. Other product categories, including iPad, Mac and Services, also showed rock-solid growth.

Apple's stock price is up 84.74% since a pandemic-caused low point on March 23 that rocked the entire market. Apple recovered to pre-coronavirus levels in May, and has continued growing roughly 30% since then.