Microsoft surpassed Apple today to become the world's most valuable listed company. Apple shares fell 1%, giving Microsoft a narrow win over Apple with a market value of $2.87 trillion. The crossover occurred around 9:50 a.m. ET, shortly after the market opened. In the past few days, Apple's stock price has continued to decline, while Microsoft's stock price has been exactly the opposite.
In its November earnings report, Apple's sales fell short of expectations due to lower-than-expected demand for iPads and wearable devices. Mac revenue also dropped significantly from the previous year. It remains to be seen how the response to the Vision Pro headset will impact the market, but expectations are relatively low due to lower sales expectations and the device's higher price point.
Overall trading on Thursday was slightly above average, with the Nasdaq down about half a percent. Apple's stock is down about $3 a share today, and Microsoft's stock is down slightly from where it opened but up from yesterday's close.
In August 2020, Apple became the first U.S. listed company with a market value of US$2 trillion, and in June 2021, Microsoft became the second. Then in October 2021, Microsoft took over the number one spot and within a few months was worth $100 billion more than Apple. In 2023, Microsoft's stock price rose 57%, while Apple's stock price rose 48%. At the beginning of 2024, the decline in Microsoft's stock price also narrowed.
Apple's stock price has fallen sharply in recent days. Barclays said demand for iPhones is weakening and the iPhone 16 series will not offer any compelling new features to attract users to upgrade.
Analysts believe that Apple relies on iPhone sales, which is part of the reason why Microsoft has performed better. Analysts believe that Microsoft is less dependent on hardware and more dependent on subscription software such as Office 365, so it is less dependent on falling demand for mobile phones or computers.
Moreover, Microsoft has launched the artificial intelligence tool Copilot, while Apple has not launched any applications or services similar to ChatGPT. Analysts seem to be ignoring that Apple has been using artificial intelligence for years, naming it "Machine Learning."