By Eric J. Savitz
Microsoft edged past Apple Friday to reclaim the title of the world’s most valuable public company.
The software giant now has a valuation of $2.89 trillion, slightly ahead of Apple at $2.87 trillion.
Microsoft has been gradually closing the gap. Over the last 12 months, its shares have rallied 62.9%, versus a 39.4% gain for Apple. So far in 2024, Microsoft shares are 3.3% higher, while Apple is off 3.4%.
Microsoft’s valuation briefly exceeded Apple’s market cap on an intraday basis earlier this week, before falling back. Apple had spent more than 500 days as the stock market’s most valued company. Microsoft last held the top spot on a closing basis in November 2021.
The emergence of the artificial intelligence software boom has been a boost to Microsoft shares. The company has been aggressively rolling out Copilot AI software across its portfolio, the Azure cloud business has received a boost from growth in AI workloads and it is the largest investor in the AI software leader OpenAI.
Meanwhile, Apple has seen four consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue declines, amid lackluster demand or phones, Macs, and other hardware.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com