Microsoft briefly overtook Apple as the world’s most valuable public company in December 2018.
Microsoft passed Apple by market capitalization on December 1, 2018, during a period when technology shares were falling and Apple’s stock was under pressure. The lead was temporary: market-cap rankings can reverse quickly because they depend on daily share prices and the number of shares outstanding.
Microsoft’s resurgence was associated with strong growth in cloud computing, especially Azure, along with subscription software such as Microsoft 365 and its established Windows and business-software franchises. Under chief executive Satya Nadella, the company increasingly emphasized cloud services and recurring subscriptions.
Apple and Microsoft have repeatedly exchanged the top position over the years. The ranking does not mean one company has greater revenue, profit, assets, or economic importance in every category. It means investors were assigning a higher stock-market value to its publicly traded equity at that moment.