Istafa Ali
It looks like Microsoft has jumped ahead of Apple to become the most valuable company in the world. This happened because Apple’s shares had a rough start to 2024 due to falling product demand.
Because Microsoft was one of the first companies to make progress in generative AI, its market value rose to $2.875 trillion, making it worth more than Apple for the first time since 2021.
According to the most recent data, Microsoft’s shares have gone up 1.6%. This shows that investors are excited about the company’s progress in creative AI.
Apple, on the other hand, saw its value drop by 0.9%, giving it a market capitalization of $2.871 trillion. Experts say that Microsoft’s faster growth and big wins from the generative AI revolution were very important in this big change in history.
Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson, said, “Microsoft is growing faster and has more to benefit from the generative AI revolution.” This made it clear that Microsoft would win. Apple’s recent problems can be seen in the fact that its stock fell 3.3% in January, while Microsoft’s stock went up 1.8%.
Rating downgrades are one of Apple’s problems. They make people worry about the iPhone’s sales prospects, especially in China, which is a very important market. Redburn Atlantic said that China’s changes, rising tensions between China and the US, and competition from Huawei could all hurt Apple’s performance.
Also, officials are keeping a close eye on Apple’s services business, especially the deal with Google for the search engine on iOS. Even though Apple had a 48% gain at the end of 2023, new problems have helped Microsoft rise to the top.
Wall Street is excited about Microsoft’s move into creative AI, which is helped by its work with OpenAI on ChatGPT-powered tools.
With no “sell” ratings and almost 90% of brokerages suggesting a buy, it’s clear that the company has a good future. But things don’t look as good for Apple. Two analysts have given the stock a “sell” grade, and only two-thirds of analysts recommend it.
Both Apple and Microsoft trade at fairly high price-to-earnings ratios: Apple at 28 and Microsoft at 31. This suggests that the market is changing, and Microsoft’s growth could change the long-held story of tech power.
