Beyond Apple, The 9 Most Valuable Companies In History


#6 PetroChina in 2007

Value then: $1 trillion

Adjusted to 2012: $1.12 trillion

PetroChina, founded in 1999 is China's biggest oil producer. It is the most profitable company in Asia. It entered trading following the announcement of stock issue in Shanghai in November 2007. The first-day valuations of stock fuelled by investor speculations over growth made it world’s first trillion dollar company.

However, the share values later retreated to normal levels and the company is now valuated at $233.68 Billion.  

#5 IBM in 1967

Value then: $193 billion

Adjusted to 2012: $1.3 trillion

The International Business Machines Corporation, which always ran ahead of its competitors with innovations, was the first company from tech sector to mark its valuation above trillion dollars in this list. At its peak times, the company had developed deep relations with government organizations including NASA, delivering them cutting edge computing power.

Subsequently the company sold off its PC business and is now focusing more on enterprise and also technology services. It is now valuated at $216 billion.

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