In a brief yet symbolic moment, Microsoft temporarily surpassed Apple to become the world’s most valuable company on Thursday, highlighting the contrast between a company driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and another facing concerns about iPhone sales.
Shortly after the opening of Wall Street markets, Microsoft’s market capitalization reached nearly $2.9 trillion, edging slightly above Apple, as calculated by AFP. While Microsoft held the top position only momentarily before returning to second place, the incident underscores how the surge in interest in AI has influenced investors’ sentiments toward the two tech giants.
Microsoft’s success has been notably boosted by its partnership with OpenAI, the creator of the generative AI interface ChatGPT, in which it holds almost half the capital. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Microsoft’s shares have surged by almost 75%. In contrast, Apple has experienced a still impressive but more modest 35% rise during the same period.
Microsoft has introduced several products leveraging generative AI capabilities, including its Bing search engine and Copilot virtual assistant. Meanwhile, Apple has faced market concerns regarding its ability to sustain the remarkable growth it has historically achieved.
Analysts at Barclays recently lowered their outlook for Apple, citing worries about a slowdown in iPhone 15 sales, particularly in China. Additionally, Redburn Atlantic analysts revised their opinion to “neutral” from “buy” due to concerns about limited growth prospects in the coming years and mixed results for the current quarter.
Despite Apple’s market capitalization exceeding the symbolic threshold of three trillion dollars multiple times since January 2022, the company regularly engages in substantial share buybacks and cancels shares, leading to a reduction in the number of shares in circulation and a subsequent decrease in market capitalization.
