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US sweeps list of the world's largest companies: Meet the Top 5

For the first time in nearly a decade, the world’s five largest public companies are all American affair  These are the Top 5, as of mid-April 2013.

2. Apple (AAPL)

Bobby Yipp/AP/File
A worker climbs outside an Apple store in Hong Kong earlier this month. The software giant had the highest market value in the world for over a year, but falling stock prices have relegated it to number two.

Current stock value: $398.67 per share

One-year range: $385.10-$705.07

2012 revenue: $156.5 billion

2012 net income: $41.7 billion

Apple has been jockeying for the title of world’s largest company since fall 2011, when it first snagged the top spot. Apple shares climbed above $700 a share last fall but they have fallen steadily since then as analysts worry whether it can sustain its impressive growth after the passing of its charismatic cofounder, Steve Jobs. In mid-April, its stock price fell below $400 a share for the first time in more than a year.

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