“Market cap" represents a "perception of future performance", not an assessment of a company's "value to society”.
Investors are just expressing a sentiment that Apple - a company that has rebased its product and service offerings at least five time during its 35 years of existence, in many instances cannibalizing the incumbent cash-cow to pioneer a new business opportunity - may have better long term business prospects than ExxonMobil - a company that has an 100+ year history of providing the petroleum-based commodities that are the current basis of our civilization, but has arguably demonstrated no other competencies.
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“Market cap" represents a "perception of future performance", not an assessment of a company's "value to society”.
Investors are just expressing a sentiment that Apple - a company that has rebased its product and service offerings at least five time during its 35 years of existence, in many instances cannibalizing the incumbent cash-cow to pioneer a new business opportunity - may have better long term business prospects than ExxonMobil - a company that has an 100+ year history of providing the petroleum-based commodities that are the current basis of our civilization, but has arguably demonstrated no other competencies.