Microsoft Tops Apple to Become Most Valuable Public Company // published 12 jan 2024

Microsoft Tops Apple to Become Most Valuable Public Company
The shift is indicative of the importance of new artificial intelligence technology to Silicon Valley and Wall Street investors.

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$3.0 trillion in market capitalization

2.5

2.0

Apple

Microsoft

1.5

1.0

0.5

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

Note: Data from 2000 to 2023 is plotted monthly and adjusted for inflation.Source: LSEG Data and AnalyticsBy The New York Times
By Tripp Mickle and Karen Weise
Tripp Mickle has covered Apple since 2016. Karen Weise has covered Microsoft since 2018.

Jan. 12, 2024
Updated 5:55 p.m. ET
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For more than a decade, Apple was the stock market’s undisputed king. It first overtook Exxon Mobil as the world’s most valuable public company in 2011 and held the title almost without interruption.

But a transfer of power has begun.

On Friday, Microsoft surpassed Apple, claiming the crown after its market value surged by more than $1 trillion over the past year. Microsoft finished the day at $2.89 trillion, higher than Apple’s $2.87 trillion, according to Bloomberg.

The change is part of a reordering of the stock market that was set in motion by the advent of generative artificial intelligence. The technology, which can answer questions, create images and write code, has been heralded for its potential to disrupt businesses and create trillions of dollars in economic value.

When Apple replaced Exxon, it ushered in an era of tech supremacy. The values of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Google dwarfed former market leaders like Walmart, JPMorgan Chase and General Motors.

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The tech industry still dominates the top of the list, but the companies with the most momentum have put generative A.I. at the forefront of their future business plans. The combined value of Microsoft, Nvidia and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, increased by $2.5 trillion last year. Their performances outshined Apple, which posted a smaller share price increase in 2023.

“It simply comes down to gen A.I.,” said Brad Reback, an analyst at the investment bank Stifel. Generative A.I. will have an impact on all of Microsoft’s businesses, including its largest, he said, while “Apple doesn’t have much of an A.I. story yet.”