Microsoft became the second U.S. company to surpass a $3 trillion market value.
Microsoft briefly exceeded a $3 trillion market capitalization in January 2024, following a long rise in investor expectations about cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Apple was the first U.S. company to reach that level.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in 1975. Its early success came from licensing operating systems, especially MS-DOS, and later from Windows, which became the dominant desktop operating system for many years.
Microsoft’s modern business is much broader than Windows. Azure provides cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 supplies productivity software, Xbox serves gaming users, and LinkedIn and GitHub add major professional platforms. Market value reflects expected future profits, not simply the popularity of one product.