Microsoft Takes Top Spot as World’s Most Valuable Company from Apple
On Thursday Microsoft took the top spot as the world’s most valuable company from Apple after the iPhone maker started this with its worst beginning in years on growing demand worries.
Shares of Microsoft were 1.5% higher, giving it a market cap of $2.888T as investors were drawn by its early lead in the race to monetize generative artificial intelligence.
Apple was down 0.3% with a market cap of $2.887T. This is the first time since 2021 that its valuation has dropped to lower than Microsoft’s.
Apple’s stock has so far in Jan. slipped 3.3% as of the last close, versus with 1.8% gain in Microsoft.
The Apple weakness comes after several rating downgrades that have fueled fears that sales of the iPhone, its biggest cash generator, may stay weak, especially in China, a major market.
On Wednesday, brokerage Redburn Atlantic said in a note that China may drag down Apple’s performance over the next few years and pointed to pressure on Apple increasing due to Sino-U.S. tensions and competition from a resurgent Huawei.
The firm added that Apple’s services business is facing threats as regulators increase scrutiny of a deal that will make Google the default iOS search engine.