Back in May last year, Pocket-lint told you how Apple had overtaken Microsoft as the biggest tech business in the world. But Apple's endeavour for world domination didn't end there - as reports now suggest that Apple has taken over oil giant ExxonMobil as the most valuable company in the world, based on the value of its stock.

So it's official - Apple is no longer the underdog that it likes to portray itself as. It is the world's biggest company across all industries.

Apple's shares ended with a stock price of $363.69 when the markets closed on Wednesday, giving the Cupertino company a value of $337.2 billion.

ExxonMobil had held top spot since 2005, a position also once held by Apple's great rival Microsoft.

And the bad news for Apple's competitors is that the company's value will only continue to grow. That's according to business analyst Brian Marshall who told the Associated Press that the company had "a tremendous runway in front of them" and was growing like a successful startup.

"Even in 2008 and 2009 Apple grew like a weed and the world was coming to an end,'' he said.

The signs were there earlier this year when Apple's net profit, for the first time ever, overtook that of Microsoft's. Jobs and co raked in a profit of $5.99 billion in the first quarter of 2011, which was $760 million more than Microsoft's result of $5.23 million.

The biggest company in the world then. Magical.