AP

AP

Apple (AAPL) is No. 1 in most areas – except the one that matters most to many investors: dividends.

Apple edged out Exxon Mobil (XOM) as the most valuable company in the world years ago with a market value of more than $ 740 billion. And despite Exxon reporting better-than-expected profit $ 4.9 billion in the first quarter, Apple's made much more: $ 13.6 billion.

But the area Exxon Mobil is still top is in the sheer amount of dividends it pays out. Exxon is again the largest dividend payer at a $ 12.2 billion annual rate, says Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices. The oil giant edges out Apple at $ 12 billion.

Apple's total dividend payout has fallen because the company's number of shares outstanding has dropped due to stock buybacks, Silverblatt says. The total dividend payout is the dividend per share times the number of shares outstanding.

But at a share level, Exxon still trumps Apple, too. Exxon yields 3.3% vs. 1.6% for Apple.

Chart source: S&P Capital IQ via Microsoft Excel

Chart source: S&P Capital IQ via Microsoft Excel