The crown of the most valuable company, not to say the most powerful in the world, is disputed by Microsoft with Apple, which is causing concern with its iPhone sales.
In what might be called a turnaround in the tech market, Microsoft is eyeing Apple for the title of the world’s most valuable company. Recent concerns over iPhone sales have led to a 4% fall in the Apple brand’s shares at the start of 2024, which directly endangers its leading position in the face of the constant rise of Microsoft, up 2% since the start of the year after an impressive 57% growth in 2023.
We can’t stop Microsoft anymore!
On Wednesday, Apple recorded a drop of 0.4% in its shares, while that of Microsoft climbed 1.6%, further narrowing the gap between the two technology giants. As of Wednesday’s close, Apple’s market capitalization stood at $2.866 billion, slightly ahead of Microsoft’s market capitalization of $2.837 billion. Suffice it to say that the two behemoths are in a pinch.
Falling iPhone sales in China, down 30% in the first week of 2024, have added to the challenges for Apple, which faces fierce competition from Huawei and other local players. At the same time, Microsoft managed to maintain its growth, highlighting the volatility of the market.
On February 2, Apple will launch its Vision Pro mixed reality headset in the United States, a release considered – perhaps wrongly we will see – as the most important since the iPhone in 2007. UBS nevertheless forecasts sales “ relatively negligible “, in a report published Monday, questioning their impact on Apple’s earnings per share this year.
Apple is playing big this year
The competition for stock market supremacy is in any case not new. In 2021, Microsoft had already briefly managed to overtake Apple, at that time due to pandemic-related disruptions. Today, both companies are considered expensive in terms of price compared to their expected profits, but the Cupertino company has held control of the largest valuation on the globe for two years. Until when ? That is the question.
Regarding Apple, analysts expect a slight increase in turnover over the last three months, which would mark the first growth in four quarters. You can therefore imagine that the performances of the Cupertino firm will be closely scrutinized when the results are published on 1er FEBRUARY.
With a forecast 16% increase in its turnover to $61.1 billion, Microsoft on the other hand seems to benefit from the continued growth of its cloud activity, driven by Azure. The battle for stock market supremacy between Microsoft and Apple therefore reaches a new peak, with the market’s eyes glued to their future performance.
Source : Reuters
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