Microsoft overtook Apple as the company with the highest stock market value in the world economy

Microsoft became the world’s most valuable company this Thursday. Its rise in the stock market and Apple’s decline, until recently the undisputed leader, was enough to give the company founded by Bill Gates and directed by Satya Nadella the world throne by market capitalization, compared to a total of $2,875 billion. 2,871 billion of its rival. Microsoft is closing the gap with Apple until it surpasses it, thanks in part to the success of its commitment to artificial intelligence with OpenAI. Added to this is the good evolution of its other businesses. However, a few minutes later, Apple recovered and overtook Microsoft. The two companies are almost equally matched at around $2.9 billion (2.65 billion euros).

Apple, founded in 1976, and Microsoft, in 1975, have been historical rivals since their founding by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak, respectively. Apple accused Microsoft of copying its computer style with its drop-down menus and ease of use. The computer world was divided between the two. Apple was behind for a long time and went through a severe crisis. However, with the return of Steve Jobs and the launch of the flagship iPhone, it overtook Microsoft by stock market value in 2010. He has been on the front almost endlessly. There have been several occasions during the pandemic when Microsoft has overtaken Apple, the last being in 2021, but the Tim Cook-led company has quickly topped them all.

Microsoft is leading the generative artificial intelligence race with OpenAI. He benefits from an agreement with a company run by Sam Altman and whose board he joined as an observer. Microsoft is the main shareholder of OpenAI’s commercial subsidiary, although its structure as a non-profit organization complicates the group’s governance. In any case, Microsoft is incorporating the available advances in artificial intelligence into its products and services and, at the same time, offers large-scale cloud computing services associated with the enormous computing demand of the new technology.

The weakness in Apple’s shares, on the other hand, comes after a series of downgrades from analysts who have expressed fears that sales of the iPhone, its most profitable product, will remain weak, particularly in China, its core market. Apple also threatens its services business with a potential abuse of monopoly trial against Google, which could break lucrative contracts to prefer it as the default search engine for its mobile phones, tablets and computers.

Microsoft started its 2023/204 financial year with a great quarter. The company’s revenue and profit rose between July and September compared to the same period last year, thanks to growth in its cloud computing business, which has become a revenue driver. The technology company increased its turnover by 13% to 56,517 million dollars (about 53,350 million euros at the current exchange rate). Profit, for its part, rose 27% to a record $22,291 million, beating analysts’ estimates.

Behind Microsoft and Apple, the next most valuable private companies in the world are also American technology companies. In third place is Google with $1.8 billion; Next comes Amazon with $1.6 billion and microprocessor designer Nvidia, another big winner in the race for artificial intelligence, with $1.35 billion.

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