Microsoft leave behind Apple to Become Most Valuable Company

The market capitalization of Microsoft, among the big software companies, has exceeded that of iPhone maker Apple for the first time in two years. This has made it the most valued company in the world. Apple's share price has been affected by the fear of decline in demand for iPhone.

Apple's stock was up 0.2 percent on Friday, while Microsoft's share price was up nearly one percent. Microsoft's market value reached approximately $2.88 trillion. Apple's market capitalization was approximately $2.87 trillion. Apple's shares have fallen by 3 percent in the last few days due to fears over smartphone demand. Last year the company's shares had increased by about 48 percent. Microsoft's stock has increased by about three percent in the last few days. Last year, Microsoft's shares surged by nearly 57 percent after it took a big step into generative artificial intelligence by investing in ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

According to LSEG data, on December 14 last year, Apple's market capitalization peaked at around $3.08 trillion. The company's mixed reality headset, Vision Pro, will be launched in the US on February 2. Pre-orders for this will start on January 19. The company had introduced it at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June last year. This headset will be available in America through Apple stores and the company's web store. It supports both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. Pre-orders for this will start on January 19.

Recently, Barclays downgraded Apple's stock from 'neutral' to 'underweight'. After this there was a big fall in the share price of the company. Barclays analyst Tim Long had said that demand for the company's new iPhones may remain weak. Apart from this, it is facing challenges in markets like China. The government is increasing strictness on American companies in China. China is a big market for Apple and is also the hub of manufacturing of iPhones. Apple is facing tough competition from brands like China's Huawei.