Microsoft, for the first time in nearly a decade, is worth more than Apple, closing Friday’s trading session with a market cap of $851 billion and pushing the Seattle-based tech giant past its longtime rival as the world’s most valuable public company in the process.
The two companies had been trading blows throughout the week, so to speak, with Microsoft leaping Apple multiple times during intraday trading. Friday marked the first time since 2010 Microsoft closed the day as the more valuable company. Plenty has changed in those eight years. At the time, Microsoft was still selling Zune, its wannabe-iPod MP3 player, the iPhone 4 hadn’t been released yet and Steve Jobs was still the head honcho at Apple.
Microsoft closed Friday up 0.6 percent to nearly $111 per share, putting it within striking distance of passing its 52-week high. Apple, on the other hand, closed at $178.58 per share, giving the company a market cap of $847.5 billion. Apple shares have dropped about 20 percent in the last month, after the company reported underwhelming Q4 iPhone sales.
Microsoft’s fortunes have drastically changed since CEO Satya Nadella took over four years ago. The company’s stock price has tripled, as Microsoft scrapped various smartphone bets and focused on software and its cloud storage business. Microsoft, with 13 percent of the market, is now second to Amazon when it comes to cloud services. Microsoft also won a $480 million contract from the Army earlier this week to create augmented reality training tools.