Accenture's market capitalisation crosses Infy's

BANGALORE: In early 2005, market capitalization of Infosys surged ahead of global tech giant Accenture’s market cap. And through the last six years, Infosys has mostly remained ahead. Between May 2009 and April this year, the Indian IT bellwether was always ahead.

But starting May this year, Accenture’s market cap has surged ahead of Infosys and the position is being maintained. Analysts say this time around Accenture might stay ahead for a long time. At end of trade on Wednesday, Infosys had a market cap of $31 billion on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Accenture opened trade on Wednesday at the NYSE with a market cap of around $36 billion.

Market cap is the valuation of a company and is calculated by multiplying the current share price by the outstanding shares or number of shares issued by the company. The market cap reflects the current sentiments about the future prospects of a company’s growth. Thus, the fortunes of Accenture at this point, from an investor’s perspective , look more promising.

In the previous quarter, Accenture’s revenues (March-May ) grew 21% to $6.7 billion. Revenues of Infosys (April-June ), from a much lower base, grew 23% to $1.7 billion. In contrast, in the same quarters of 2005, revenues of Accenture rose by 11% to $4 billion and that of Infosys increased 42% to $476 million.

Apple briefly pips Exxon

San Fransisco: For several hours on Tuesday, Apple surpassed Exxon Mobil, as the stock market’s most valuable company. But by trading’s close, Exxon Mobil was back in the lead, although less than $2 billion ahead of Apple.

At the end of trading, Apple shares closed at $374, up 5.9%, for a market valuation of $346.7 billion. Exxon Mobil closed at $71.6, up 2%, with a market capitalization of only $1.6 billion more, $348.3 billion. During the day’s seesaw trading, Apple’s market cap surpassed Exxon Mobil by as much as $7 billion.

Analysts say they expect Apple and Exxon to continue jockeying for the top slot while the markets remain volatile. Apple peaked at $403.4 a share on July 26.