Today Apple returned to the top with a $821.59 billion market cap and shares rising to $174.24 at trading end

Beating out tech rivals Amazon at $805.70 billion and Microsoft at $813.48 billion, respectively, Apple returned to the status of the world’s most valuable company on Wednesday. Apple shares had dropped down to $142.19 on January 3rd after the company announced that it was going to have a lowered end of 2018 quarter earnings, off by initial estimates of $5 billion or more. When Apple did release its quarterly earnings, they came in at $84.3 billion in global revenue.

The global economy today is increasingly dependent upon and affected by the entrepreneurial activity, profitability and employment offered by tech giants. Apple’s stock rebounded quickly. Apple had prepared investors for the worst, admitting to a drop in iPhone sales mostly due to lower sales in China. More iPhone customers are holding on to their smartphones longer with more expensive models. In China, local vendors like Xiaomi and Huawei have dominated the Chinese market, selling their cheaper smartphones. China’s economy has also weakened in recent months. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have also affected Apple product sales.

Apple shares rallied by end of January, but were still significantly lower than the $232.07 trading price back in October of 2018.