In a remarkable turn of events, Microsoft has seized the crown as the most valuable publicly traded company, breaking Apple’s long-standing reign. This significant shift in fortunes occurred briefly during intraday trading on Thursday but was solidified by the end of Friday’s U.S. trading session.
Microsoft’s stock market performance soared, with shares rising by over 3% throughout the week, elevating the company’s market capitalization to an astounding $2.89 trillion. In contrast, Apple faced a dip of over 3% in its stock price, resulting in a reduction of its overall valuation to $2.87 trillion.
The pivotal moment coincided with Redburn Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell downgrading Apple from a “buy” to a “neutral” rating on Wednesday. Cordwell’s decision was influenced by concerns about Apple’s limited iPhone growth potential in the coming years and uncertainties about the expected performance in the upcoming March quarter.
In a separate development, Apple announced the retirement of former Vice President Al Gore from the company’s board next month. Gore had been a director at Apple since 2003.
On the flip side, Microsoft received a vote of confidence on Thursday as it showcased its artificial intelligence capabilities at an event in San Francisco. Analysts from Piper Sandler expressed optimism about the strong momentum surrounding Microsoft’s mature AI products. They highlighted the positive trend in GitHub website traffic, steadily increasing year over year for three consecutive months. Analysts have consequently given Microsoft shares the equivalent of a “buy” rating, indicating their positive outlook on the company’s performance.
For more than a year, Apple maintained its status as the most valuable publicly traded company. Despite brief periods when other entities like Saudi Aramco and Microsoft temporarily surpassed it in market capitalization, this recent development marks a significant shift in the dynamics of the tech industry.
