Bangalore: Tech companies always had an edge in the stock market. With Apple sitting on top for a long time as the ‘world’s most valuable company’, it’s the turn of Google now. The search behemoth on Tuesday saw its shares hitting an all time high of $806.85, bringing its valuation to around $266 billion.

According to WSJ, Google has become the only tech firm to cross $800 mark in history. Meanwhile, its biggest rival, Apple is almost 35 percent down from its all time high $705.7, came in last September. With its share slide, Apple had also lost its “most valuable” spot to ExxonMobil in late January.

However, Google, who has so far expanded to multiple businesses outside search, has reported strong Q4 earnings. "The core search business keeps growing at rates that are higher than what investors thought six months ago," said Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster to WSJ.

With its Android gaining market share and the Nexus branded hardware faring well in the market, Google is also planning to go retail with its Apple- like stores set across the globe, primarily in the U.S.

Google is currently trading at $806.85 a Nasdaq and Apple at $459.99.

Also read: Beyond Apple, The 9 Most Valuable Companies In History