Microsoft was the first publicly traded U.S. corporation to surpass a $2 trillion market capitalization after Apple.
Microsoft crossed the $2 trillion mark during trading on June 24, 2021. Apple had reached the milestone first in 2020, so Microsoft became the second U.S. company to enter that valuation range.
The company’s transformation from a software-licensing business into a cloud and subscription company helped drive its market value. Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows, Xbox, LinkedIn, and enterprise software all contribute to its business, while its long-running partnership and competition with other technology firms shaped the industry.
The figure was a market capitalization, calculated from Microsoft’s share price and shares outstanding. It was not Microsoft’s annual sales or total assets. As with every stock-market ranking, the order can change when share prices move, so historical milestones should be tied to their dates.