Apple was the first company to regain the title of the world’s most valuable company after Microsoft held it in 2021.
Microsoft briefly overtook Apple by market capitalization in October 2021, as supply-chain concerns affected Apple and Microsoft benefited from strong demand for cloud software. Apple reclaimed the top position later that year as investors continued to value its hardware ecosystem and services business.
The ranking is not permanent because market capitalization changes whenever share prices move. It can also vary during a trading day, and different reports may use slightly different share counts or closing times.
Apple and Microsoft have repeatedly exchanged the top position in the modern market-cap rankings. Both companies began in personal computing, then expanded into large ecosystems: Apple through devices and services, and Microsoft through software, cloud computing, gaming, and enterprise products.