The flip flop status changes of the World’s most valuable company has the
baton returning to Microsoft after the close of trading on business day Friday.
In the last ten years, the baton of who is the World’s most valuable company
has been rotating between IBM, Cocacola, Microsoft, Apple and Google.Microsoft passed Apple in
market cap on Friday, making it the world’s most valuable publicly traded
company, after Apple missed earnings expectations on Thursday.
Microsoft had a market cap of nearly $2.49 trillion at market close, while
Apple’s stood at about $2.46 trillion.
Apple reported on Thursday that revenue missed Wall Street
expectations in the
company’s fiscal fourth quarter, a result of supply chain constraints. CEO
Tim Cook told CNBC’s Josh Lipton the revenue shortfall is estimated at $6
billion, but he expects worse supply chain issues in the December quarter.
Sales of iPhones at the company were up 47% year over year but also fell
short of analyst expectations. The company’s fourth quarter only included a few
days of iPhone 13 sales.
Microsoft beat
revenue expectations in its fiscal first quarter, which climbed about
22% year over year. That was the fastest growth since 2018, CNBC previously
reported.
Apple was the first
company to reach a $1 trillion and $2 trillion market cap. It became the
world’s most
valuable publicly traded company when it surpassed state oil giant Saudi Aramco in market cap
last year.
Microsoft last topped Apple in market cap in 2020 as the coronavirus
pandemic wreaked havoc on supply chains. It first closed
above a $2 trillion market cap in June after revealing the first major
update to Windows in more than five years.
At market close, Microsoft’s stock was up more than 48% year to date, while
Apple’s had risen almost 13%.
Source. CNBC