Microsoft becomes US' most valuable company, surpassing Apple and Amazon
Microsoft has surpassed both Apple and Amazon to become the most valuable company in the US in terms of market capitalization. Microsoft's market cap now stands at $753.3bn - a slender lead over Apple's $746.8bn and Amazon's $736.8bn. Amazon and Apple had both hit the $1 trillion market capitalization mark earlier this year, but declined afterwards. Here are the details.
First time that Microsoft has caught Apple since 2010
The last time Microsoft had been in touching distance of Apple's market cap was in 2010. Although it has trailed behind Apple ever since, Microsoft's cloud services are starting to generate considerable revenue now. Apple, on the other hand, has seen its market cap slide since it hit the $1 trillion mark, driven by low iPhone sales, and reports of supply-side problems.
How cloud services and personal computing is driving Microsoft's growth
Microsoft's increasingly strong portfolio of cloud services, gaming, and Surface laptops is expected to result in a 34% in revenue to $29.1bn and a 19% increase in net income to $8.8bn in the first quarter of 2019. Revenue from Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud, Server products & Cloud services, and Personal Computing is expected to rise by 24%, 28%, and 15%, respectively.
Nadella: Microsoft is off to a good start in 2019
"We are off to a great start in fiscal 2019, a result of our innovation and the trust customers are placing in us to power their digital transformation," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a statement.
Investors have grown wary of the FANG companies
Meanwhile, although Google-parent Alphabet is the fourth valuable company in the US now, investors have become wary of slowing growth among FANG companies (Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google). Another major concern surrounding Facebook and Google is that these companies are increasingly coming under scrutiny due to their data practices, and investors are worried about controversy affecting these companies.
