Friday 29 October 2021
Chip crisis cost top spot
Apple is no longer the most valuable company
For years, the tech giants Apple and Microsoft have been “juggling” for the title of most valuable listed company. After the respective reports on the course of business in the summer, a change of position is due again.
Microsoft has taken the crown from competitor Apple as the world’s most valuable company on the stock exchange. While the software company had convinced investors with its latest business figures, the iPhone manufacturer’s titles were punished after a disappointing balance sheet and fell to $ 147. The market value was $ 2.41 billion. Microsoft shares, on the other hand, are more expensive than ever and were up at $ 326.8. The market capitalization of $ 2.46 billion was above Apple’s for the first time since mid-2020.
The two tech giants have been fighting a lonely duel for the top spot since Apple knocked Microsoft off the throne for the first time in 2010. But the current delivery bottlenecks seem to be more of a problem for the iPhone maker than the competitor. In the fourth quarter, the group therefore posted a slump in sales and warned that the effects in the important Christmas business are likely to be even more drastic.
“Compared to less hardware-oriented big tech colleagues, Apple is much more affected by interruptions in the supply chain,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at asset manager Hargreaves Lansdown. Microsoft, on the other hand, can shine thanks to the demand for its cloud-based services caused by the corona pandemic. Microsoft shares have risen more than 45 percent since the beginning of the year, while Apple shares rose 15 percent in the same period.