Apple's Worth More Than Google?

Was it buzz over the iPhone App store? Its tie-up with Best Buy? The Mac's comeback vs. the PC? Worries about an online advertising slowdown?

On Wednesday, Tom Petruno's the Money & Co. blog pointed out that, Apple's market valuation surpassed Google's for the first time since the search giant went public in August 2004, based on Bloomberg calculations. Google has moved back into the lead today, and Petruno notes that it appears to be the better priced of the two.

If anyone still cares about price-to-earnings ratios, Apple shares now sell for 34 times this year’s estimated earnings of $5.21 a share. Google’s P/E is about 26 based on expected earnings of $19.67 a share.

Both companies' market values still appear small in comparison to Microsoft's.

-- Chris Gaither