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<\/p>\nApple overtook Microsoft to regain its title as the world\u2019s most valuable company, the latest sign of improving investor sentiment over its growth and position with artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
The milestone followed a blistering rally, including Apple\u2019s biggest three-day advance since August 2020.<\/p>\n
It closed with a market capitalization of $3.285 trillion (R60.59 trillion), compared with Microsoft at $3.282 trillion (R60.53 trillion).<\/p>\n
This is the first time since January that Apple closed with a higher market value than Microsoft, and it represents the latest reshuffling of the ranks of Wall Street\u2019s largest stocks.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Apple closed in third place behind Nvidia Corp.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have a high degree of conviction that they will be an AI winner, and it seems like this is a market where if you\u2019re an AI winner, you\u2019re being bid up a lot,\u201d said Rhys Williams, chief strategist at Wayve Capital Management.<\/p>\n
\u201cI assume both Microsoft and Apple will be somewhat of a horse race for the foreseeable future with Nvidia also in contention.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Cupertino, California-based company rose 0.6% on Thursday, its third straight positive session, which also included the largest one-day percentage gain since November 2022 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The three-day jump of about 11% added a staggering $323.9 billion to its market capitalization.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s bigger than all but a handful of components in the S&P 500 Index.<\/p>\n
Microsoft rose 0.1% on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The catalyst for the gains was Apple\u2019s\u00a0AI-focused\u00a0Worldwide Developers Conference presentation on Monday, which fueled hopes that customers will pay up for the next generation of iPhones, spurring a long-awaited rebound in growth.<\/p>\n
Revenue fell 4.3% in\u00a0Apple\u2019s fiscal second quarter, the fifth contraction in the past six quarters.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI functionality is likely to drive a multi-year upgrade cycle from faster replacement, more switching, and ASP increases,\u201d wrote Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan, referring to average selling prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cApple Intelligence can drive a significant upgrade cycle and consensus estimates are too low.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AI event came in the wake of a positive quarterly\u00a0report\u00a0in early May, when Apple also\u00a0announced\u00a0a $110 billion buyback plan, the largest buyback program in US history.<\/p>\n
Even with the recent strength, concerns about growth have capped Apple\u2019s gain relative to the rest of big tech.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s rally pushed Apple\u2019s gain in 2024 to 11%, below the Nasdaq 100 Index\u2019s 16% advance. Stocks with more concrete AI exposure \u2014 including Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabet Inc., and Meta Platforms \u2014 have all outperformed Apple this year. Nvidia has soared more than 160%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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