Alphabet, Google’s new parent company, has overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable company on at least one measure, says Richard Waters in the Financial Times. Google announced a surprise restructure last year, separating its core search-engine business from its more experimental ventures, such as driverless cars, and its shares have surged in recent months.
Apple, meanwhile, continues to post record profits but has been weighed down by fears of slowing iPhone sales. By market cap (the total value of its shares), Apple remains the world’s largest company, having taken the title off oil group ExxonMobil in 2013. But by enterprise value, seen as a more comprehensive gauge of overall worth as it includes cash piles and debt, Google is now narrowly in the lead.