San Francisco – In a surprising turn of events, Microsoft has overtaken Apple to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the United States. This shift in rankings came after Microsoft briefly surpassed Apple in intraday trading on Thursday, ultimately ending Friday’s U.S. trading session with a higher market capitalization.
Shares of Microsoft experienced a more than 3% increase over the week, bringing the company’s market cap to an impressive $2.89 trillion. At the same time, Apple’s stock dropped by over 3%, thereby lowering its valuation to $2.87 trillion.
This significant milestone for Microsoft comes as Apple faced a downgrade from Redburn Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell on Wednesday. Cordwell cited concerns about the lack of potential growth in iPhone sales in the coming years, as well as the anticipated underwhelming performance in the March quarter for Apple.
Another blow to Apple’s standing occurred when the company announced that former Vice President Al Gore would retire from its board next month. Gore has been serving as a director for Apple since 2003.
On the contrary, Microsoft received an optimistic outlook after showcasing its artificial intelligence capabilities to developers at an event in San Francisco. Piper Sandler analysts even expressed their confidence with a buy rating on Microsoft shares, highlighting the encouraging momentum around the company’s most mature AI products and the consistent increase in traffic on the GitHub website.
For over a year, Apple held the title of the most valuable public company, except for brief periods when the distinction was held by Saudi Aramco and Microsoft. However, with this recent development, Microsoft has emerged as the frontrunner in the market.
The shift in rankings serves as a reminder of the competitiveness and volatility within the tech industry, where companies must continuously innovate and adapt to maintain their leading positions.
In summary, Microsoft has surpassed Apple to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the United States, with a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion. Apple, on the other hand, experienced a drop in stock value and a downgrade from an analyst due to concerns over iPhone sales growth and an underwhelming performance in the March quarter. This change in rankings highlights the dynamic nature of the tech industry.