Technology giant Microsoft has unseated Apple as the world’s most valuable listed company. The software giant has reclaimed the number one spot after more than 15 years. On Friday, the company’s market value crossed $851 billion and Apple’s market value stood at $847 billion.
Both the technology companies were competing for the top spot all week and Apple remained ahead of Microsoft at the end of each trading day. But the Cupertino-based technology company lost its lead on Friday.
Microsoft shares gained more than 0.6% to close at $110.89, while Apple’s finished at $178.60, which is around 0.5% down.
It is worth noticing that Apple’s shares have fallen by almost 25% since October because of concerns about slowing demand of the iPhone and additional US tariffs on products that are made in China.
The sell-off erased more than $200 billion from Apple’s market value. However, we should point out that Apple still remains bigger among the two companies by many measures such as annual revenue and profit.
But for now, investors are placing their bets on Microsoft’s prospects. The software giant’s growth in recent years have been driven by the firm’s cloud services unit which sells to other businesses.
If we speak of Apple, it is dependent on consumer spending, and investors feel that it is an aspect that could slow down.
Daniel Ives, managing director of equity research, Wedbush Securities was quoted saying that Microsoft will surely see significant growth, as more and more companies are expected to sign up for the company’s cloud products.
He also spoke about Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and said that he is well-positioned to “further transform (Microsoft) into a cloud behemoth over the coming years.”
Microsoft was the world’s most valuable company in the early 2000s, but took a hit after an anti-trust case. After mobile phones started challenging desktops, the company fell further out of the race. Apple took over the company as the most valuable technology firm in 2010. The iPhone maker also became the first trillion-dollar company in US earlier this year. But things changed recently as its share price plunged.
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