Apple Overtakes Microsoft in Market Value
By Ed Oswald | Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 2:33 pm
In a sign of Apple’s continuing ascension to the top of the technology heap, at 2:30pm ET today the company became the most valuable technology company in the world with a market capitalization of $227.1 billion. This was slightly morethan Microsoft’s $226.3 billion.
Both shares took a significant tumble late in the afternoon as the market gave up its gains and then some in the final hour of trading. Even so, Apple still finished in front at $222.1 billion, far ahead of Redmond at $219.2 billion.
How important is this? On the entire New York Stock Exchange there is only one American company that is more value, and that is oil giant Exxon Mobil. It also completes what could really be called a stunning comeback for Apple, which as recently as teh years ago had been in bad financial shape.
One ironic point: Microsoft itself could be credited with helping bring back Apple from the dead: in 1997, the company made a $150 million investment in the company shortly after Steve Jobs returned for his second and current stint as CEO.
Investors in Microsoft cannot be happy with what they’re seeing here. Since 2005, Microsoft’s stock has been essentially flat, posting a meager four percent increase. Compare this with Apple, whose stock has risen a staggering 550 percent in that same time period.
That to me is just crazy.
(Disclosure: Ed Oswald has small holdings of stock in both Microsoft and Apple, Inc.)
6 Comments
Read more:
3 Comments For This Post
3 Trackbacks For This Post
-
iDominance « Around The Sphere Says:
May 30th, 2010 at 1:13 pm[…] Ed Oswald at Technologizer: In a sign of Apple’s continuing ascension to the top of the technology heap, at 2:30pm ET today the company became the most valuable technology company in the world with a market capitalization of $227.1 billion. This was slightly morethan Microsoft’s $226.3 billion. […]
-
Kuidas juba olemasolevat tehnoloogiat innovatsiooni pähe maha müüa | Positiivne hoiak Says:
June 27th, 2010 at 12:59 am[…] saime teada, et Apple on juba väärtuslikum kui Microsoft. Kahtlemata on tegemist suurepärase tulemusega ettevõttele, mis mõned aastad […]
-
And That’s What You Missed on Technologizer Says:
December 31st, 2010 at 12:36 pm[…] Ed marked the moment when Apple officially became more valuable than Microsoft. […]
May 26th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I think Apple is a bubble. I have 75 shares, cost US$7.29, current US$245.22. Not oo shabby. But, being skeptical, this is after I sold 75 shares, took my money and ran.
May 26th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
The reason for the 550% increase is 1) they were undervalued before that because most people knew their work only through the unhealthy PC market’s rampant cloning, and 2) they expanded from PC’s into the much healthier consumer electronics market and dominated the product segments where they play in unique and enduring way. For example, the only music player with its own cloud, the only smartphone with native C apps, the only mobile tablet. And they take a way disproportionate share of the profits in all their markets. Now they are 75% a consumer electronics company. So much more valuable than the PC market. There are 5 mobiles for every PC, and Apple makes more profit off a mobile sale than Microsoft/HP makes off a PC sale.
Microsoft is really in trouble. The core of their business is typewriters. They replaced the Selectric by selling a typewriter with digital paper built-in. iPad is essentially digital paper with a typewriter built-in. It’s a paradigm shift for business computing, and for most users it is also a move from 2001 XP to a 2010 iPad and they are done. iPad is a Mac for business users.
May 27th, 2010 at 9:33 am
This is something of apples and oranges. Apple, as stated, is a hardware company, and Microsoft is a software company.
it is also worth noting that you are talking $222 billion vs. $219 billion. If and when it gets to say $250 billion vs. $210 billion, then it will be a different story.