Microsoft briefly became the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization in November 2021, overtaking Apple.
The change happened as investors continued to reward Microsoft for strong growth in cloud computing, enterprise software, and subscription services. Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform expanded rapidly, while products such as Microsoft 365 and the company’s software ecosystem produced recurring revenue.
Market-cap rankings can change daily because they depend on share prices. Microsoft and Apple exchanged the top position repeatedly around this period, so the milestone was a point-in-time ranking rather than a permanent title. Saudi Aramco also remained a major contender among the world’s largest listed companies.
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. It became famous for personal-computer software, especially MS-DOS and Windows, before expanding into gaming, cloud infrastructure, workplace tools, search, and professional networking through LinkedIn.