Microsoft briefly became the world’s most valuable company in 1999 after the technology stock boom.
Microsoft’s market capitalization surged during the late-1990s technology boom, helped by the near-universal use of Windows on personal computers and the strong position of Microsoft Office in business and education. In December 1999, its valuation briefly exceeded that of General Electric.
Market capitalization measures the value investors place on a company’s publicly traded shares. It does not directly measure annual sales, total assets, or the number of employees. Microsoft’s high valuation therefore reflected expectations of future earnings as well as its existing software business.
The technology bubble burst soon afterward, and Microsoft’s stock declined. The company remained a major global business and later grew through products such as Azure, Xbox, LinkedIn, and enterprise subscriptions. Apple eventually displaced Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company in the 2010s.