Microsoft was the first publicly traded corporation to surpass $500 billion in market value.
Microsoft crossed the $500 billion market-capitalization level during the technology boom of the late 1990s. The company’s dominant Windows operating system and rapidly growing Office software business made it one of the most valuable corporations in the world.
The milestone belongs to the era when personal computers were becoming standard in homes and workplaces. Microsoft’s software often shipped with new computers, creating a powerful distribution advantage. Its market value later rose and fell with technology cycles, antitrust scrutiny, changing consumer habits, and the company’s transition toward cloud services.
A market-cap record is based on the public share price and shares outstanding at a particular time. It should not be confused with a company’s annual sales or the value of all technology in use. Microsoft was incorporated in 1975 and became a public company in 1986.