Microsoft
currently holds the title of the
world's most valuable
company, albeit potentially temporarily. Under the leadership of
Satya Nadella
, the company surpassed
Apple
as its market valuation reached $2.87 trillion. This marks the latest instance of Microsoft surpassing Apple, with similar occurrences in 2018 and 2021. Microsoft's market capitalization slightly edged past that of Apple on this occasion.
The company's cloud computing platform, Azure, has become a dominant force, challenging Amazon Web Services for market share.
Azure
's revenue soared 40% year-over-year in the last quarter, showcasing its robust growth and attracting major clients across industries. Microsoft's leadership in cloud computing could further solidify its position and increase its market valuation. Additionally, the company's emphasis on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies could further provide boost.
Tough times for Apple?
Apple has had a relatively tough time. The US Department of Justice has said that it might open an antitrust case against the company. Also, Foxconn, which is one of Apple’s biggest manufacturing partner has seen its year-on-year revenue decline. Furthermore, analysts have downgraded Apple’s stock. Barclays analyst Tim Long sent a note to clients citing lacklustre
iPhone
15 sales in China. He also said that the iPhone 16 could meet the same fate. “We are still picking up weakness on iPhone volumes and mix, as well as a lack of bounce-back in Macs, iPads and wearables,” Long wrote. Soon after the downgrade, Apple’s stock did fall down by 4%.
Having said that, Apple is getting ready to launch its next big product — VisionPro. The spatial computing headset marks Apple’s entry in a new product category. VisionPro will go on sale from February 2 in the US and the market observers will be keeping a close watch on how the product fares. Apple could bounce back as the most valuable company as the gap with Microsoft currently isn’t that big.
