Apple Inc. passes rival Microsoft Corp.'s market cap for the first time
Apple shares closed at $244.18, giving it a market cap of $222.6 billion, compared with Microsoft, which has a total stock value of $219.4 billion.
Apple's stock, which has repeatedly reached record highs in recent months, has risen nearly 16% since the beginning of the year, while Microsoft's has dropped almost 18%. During the last decade, in which it released a series of hit products such as the iPod and iPhone, Apple's stock has soared nearly 1,000%. Microsoft, meanwhile, has seen its stock price remain relatively stagnant.
"It's more than just Mac versus PC," said Yair Reiner, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. "The market sees Apple as an engine of innovation and growth, but with Microsoft, the vast majority of its profits come from products that been in the market for a long time."
"Microsoft has been the workhorse of the PC revolution, but it's seems that horse is running out of new tricks."
-- David Sarno