Yuriy Komarov
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) overtook Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, after a solid Friday gain for the Washington company surpassed Apple’s more fractional rise.
Stock in Microsoft (MSFT) gained 1% on Friday to close at $388.47/share, leading to a market capitalization of just under $2.9T. That was about $12B higher than Apple (AAPL), which rose just 0.2% on Friday.
Microsoft has benefited from recent strength: Its stock is up 15% over the past six months, vs. Apple declining about 2% over the same span. Looking out to the past year, Microsoft gained nearly 63% vs. Apple’s still-strong gain of just over 39%.
The Satya Nadella-led company benefited in 2023 from investor positivity around its potential in artificial intelligence as well as continuing strength in cloud computing. On Thursday, Morgan Stanley was positive on the stock, saying Microsoft was best positioned to take advantage of boosted IT budgets in the coming year.
Microsoft reclaimed a most-valuable title it held more than two years ago.
Apple (AAPL), meanwhile, is freshly the target of a new short thesis from investment firm Hedgeye, which expects “flattish” growth after the tech giant’s strong year (which it attributes to boosted multiples even as Apple’s seen sales declines).