Microsoft became the second company to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Microsoft crossed the $1 trillion threshold in April 2019, following Apple, which reached the milestone in 2018. The achievement reflected investor confidence in Microsoft's transformation from a mainly desktop-software company into a broad cloud and subscription business.
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Its early success came from software for personal computers, especially MS-DOS and Windows. It later expanded into enterprise software, video games, search, devices, and cloud computing through Azure.
The company's market value rose as investors saw recurring revenue in products such as Microsoft 365 and strong growth in Azure. Market capitalization is not the same as sales, profit, or enterprise value. It is the value assigned by the stock market to the company's outstanding common shares.