Google Briefly Earns Title of Second-Most Valuable Company

For a few hours last week, Google (GOOG) became the second-most valuable company on the New York Stock Exchange, beating out Exxon Mobil (XOM) before falling back to third place by the close of the market. And while the victory was brief, it was yet another indication that technology companies are quickly becoming some of the most powerful companies in the world.

Bloomberg reported on Google’s achievement on Friday, saying that the company has succeeded due to its role as the world’s largest online advertiser and prominence as the go-to search engine millions of people. The article also states that technology companies such as Google owe part of their success to the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, which quickly are outgrowing traditional PC sales.

And Google isn’t the only technology company to be making waves on the stock market. Apple (APPL) remains the most profitable company on the NYSE with a market value of $463.5 billion, with Google and Microsoft (MSFT) trailing in third and fourth place, respectively. With the ever-increasing popularity of Google’s Android devices, it may not be long before the company unseats Exxon Mobil permanently from second place.

Bloomberg reports that Google shares are up a total of more than 5 percent this year, with Exxon’s shares falling 10 percent in the same period.

While the title of second-most valuable company is nothing to scoff at, those familiar with Google know that the company has never been satisfied with being the second best at anything. And with Apple occupying the top spot on the NYSE, you can be sure that Google execs will do anything in their power to unseat the the technology juggernaut from the throne.

So what does this mean for VARs? While it is still too soon to tell if the stock-exchange arms race will affect the channel, we can be certain that Google will continue to pull out all of the stops to gain the lead over Apple. Whether it plans to do this through decreased tablet and smartphone pricing or new initiatives such as its partnership with the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), new and interesting things are always on the horizon whenever Google is part of the equation.