Microsoft overtakes Apple as the world’s most valuable company | Economy

This Thursday, Microsoft became the most valuable company in the world. Its rise in the stock market and the fall of Apple, which until recently was the undisputed leader, was enough to give the company founded by Bill Gates and run by Satya Nadella the world throne by market capitalization with a total wealth of $2.875 billion, compared with $2.871 billion. your competitor. Microsoft is closing the gap with Apple until it surpasses it, thanks in part to the success of its artificial intelligence project with OpenAI. To this should be added the good development of other business areas. However, after a few minutes, Apple recovered and surpassed Microsoft again. The two firms are almost equally valued at around $2.9 billion (€2.65 billion).

Apple, founded in 1976, and Microsoft, founded in 1975, have been historical competitors since their foundings by Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Steve Wozniak, respectively. Apple accused Microsoft of copying the style of its computers with their drop-down menus and ease of use. The computer world was divided between both. Apple lagged behind for a long time and experienced an acute crisis. However, with the return of Steve Jobs and the release of the groundbreaking iPhone in 2010, the company surpassed Microsoft in value on the stock market. He stayed ahead almost continuously. There have been several instances during the pandemic where Microsoft has surpassed Apple, most recently in 2021, but in all of them the Tim Cook-led company has quickly regained the top spot.

Microsoft is leading the generative AI race with OpenAI. He benefits from an agreement with a company managed by Sam Altman and on whose board of directors he joined as an observer. Microsoft is the majority shareholder of for-profit subsidiary OpenAI, although its structure as a non-profit organization makes it difficult to manage the group. In any case, Microsoft is incorporating affordable advances in artificial intelligence into its products and services and at the same time providing large-scale cloud computing services associated with the enormous computing needs of the new technology.

The weakness in Apple shares, on the other hand, came after a series of analyst downgrades that fueled concerns that sales of the iPhone, its most profitable product, will remain weak, especially in China, its main market. Apple also sees a threat looming over its services business from a potential monopoly abuse lawsuit against Google that could see its lucrative agreements to give it priority as the default search engine for its mobile phones, tablets and computers eroded.

Microsoft started the 2023/204 financial year with a stellar quarter. The company’s revenue and profit rose sharply in the July-September period compared with the same period last year, driven by growth in its cloud computing business as a revenue driver. The technology company increased its turnover by 13% to $56.517 million (about €53.350 million at current exchange rates). Profit, in turn, rose 27% to a record $22.291 million, exceeding analysts’ forecasts.

After Microsoft and Apple, the next most valuable private companies in the world are also American technology companies. Google ranks third with $1.8 billion; followed by Amazon with $1.6 billion and chip developer Nvidia, another big winner in the artificial intelligence race, with $1.35 billion.

Follow all the information Economy And Business V Facebook And Xor in our weekly newsletter