Microsoft unseats Apple as most valuable company

Microsoft has taken the title of world’s best company, surpassing Apple’s stock capitalization on Friday.

Microsoft’s market capital is approximately $2.48 trillion at the time of publication. Apple’s market capital is now slightly lower at $2.47 trillion.

Microsoft shares are up about 51% year to-date, while Apple shares are up more than 14% over the same period.

Microsoft’s win comes after Apple suffered a rare sales slip on Thursday due to supply chain problems and a continuing shortage of chips. Apple’s fourth quarter sales were $83.36 billion, which is less than Wall Street’s forecast of $84.85 billion. The earnings per share were $1.24 and met expectations.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, stated that Apple products are in high demand despite “larger than anticipated supply constraints.” Cook estimated that the company was losing $6 billion due to supply problems. Apple reported iPhone revenue of $38.87 Billion, which was less than the $41.51 Billion analysts had expected. Apple’s fourth quarter revenue was up 29% year-overyear, which is a new record.

Microsoft recently reported first quarter net income of $2.71 per share at $20.51 billion. Revenue rose 22% to $45.32 million, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of $43.97 billion. The tech giant’s fastest-growing segment, Intelligent Cloud, saw revenue rise 31% to $17billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $16.58billion. Microsoft also reported a 166% increase in sales of its Xbox gaming consoles, accessories.

Over the past few years, Microsoft and Apple have been competing for the title of world’s most valued company. Microsoft was last to hold the title in May 2020.

Apple reclaimed the title in August 2020 when it became the first company with a $2 trillion market capital . In June, Microsoft joined Apple’s $2 trillion club.

Tesla, now valued at $1.08 trillion, became the latest trillion-dollar business earlier this week.