It happened once before, in August, but that was due to a stock market collapse that left both Exxon and Apple well below their usual share price. This time, however, it would seem that Apple’s Q1 earnings call yesterday has led to a fresh spike on the stock market and what do you know?

Apple is once again the most valuable publicly traded company in the world, with a market cap of $414.83 billion.

Yesterday’s Q1 earnings call covered the period starting September 25, 2011 and ending December 31. That means it includes numbers for the iPhone 4S launch, along with any spike in sales during the holidays. Of course, anyone who’s following along knows that the next iPad will show its face pretty soon, leading Apple into what I’m sure will be another solid year.

Still, it’s a tough feat surging past Exxon as the company sells a commodity used by almost every country in the entire world, with a current market cap of $414.47 billion. Apple, on the other hand, sells computers, tablets, smartphones… you know, luxury items. That said, Apple isn’t quite in a place where it can maintain this lead for much longer.

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal has rounded up new analyst estimates for the Cupertino-based company, and things are looking up with share price estimates ranging from $550 all the way to $666. Current share price for Apple is at $446, so hitting that goal anytime soon would be almost as mind-blowing as Apple’s Q1 results. Still, if Apple were to reach estimate share prices, its reign may last for much longer than expected.

As for the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq, both markets remain relatively unchanged for the day. The Dow Jones is at 12,713 points, up .30 percent on the day, while the Nasdaq is at 2,807.41 points, up .75 percent on the day.

Update: After teetering back and forth around a market cap of $415 billion each, it would seem the Exxon has taken the lead this evening with a market cap of $418.06 billion, compared to Apple’s $415.13 billion.