Experts have previously predicted that Google not Microsoft is expected to compete with Apple on which tech giant will become the most valuable public company in the world.
In a major coup, Microsoft has overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable publicly-listed company, 16 years after the software giant lost its crown in the wake of the dotcom crash.
The Telegraph reports that: On Wednesday, Microsoft’s market value reached $850bn, seeing it surpass its old rival for the first time since 2010 following a prolonged decline in Apple’s share price.
The news caps an extraordinary turnaround for Microsoft under its chief executive Satya Nadella, who took charge of the company just under five years ago and has overseen a tripling of its share price.
Meanwhile, Apple’s share price has fallen by almost 25pc since its peak this summer amid reports that its latest iPhones are not selling as well as it had hoped.
Microsoft and Apple were founded less than a year apart, in 1975 and 1976 respectively, and have spent much of their life as bitter rivals.
Microsoft is making more of its profits from companies that use its cloud computing services, and has gutted the smartphone division born from its 2013 acquisition of Nokia’s mobile business, a disastrous attempt to compete with Apple directly.
Its shares have risen by 29% this year, while Apple’s are up 4%. Apple became the first company to hit a trillion-dollar valuation in August, but fears over iPhone sales combined with a wider market sell-off has hit shares.
Microsoft’s market value had briefly overtaken Apple’s on Monday and Tuesday, but Apple had quickly regained its position on both occasions.
