Microsoft beats Apple as world’s most valuable company

Apple has lost its crown as the globe’s most valuable public company to Microsoft this week after the iPhone-making giant’s shares dropped 2%.

Apple’s shares fell 1.8% on Friday, ending the trading session at $149.80 apiece. The company’s market capitalization dropped to $2.48 trillion. Microsoft shares, however, showed 2.2% gains, reaching a record high of $331.62 per share, which propelled its market capitalization to roughly $2.49 trillion.

Despite posting relatively strong earnings for its fourth fiscal 2021 quarter this week, Apple sales still plunged some $6 billion in the reporting period amid persistent supply chain problems. The company said it took in revenue of $83.4 billion, a 29% increase year-over-year, but this earnings number came in below Wall Street expectations of $84.85 billion, which led to the drop in share prices. The company’s CEO Tim Cook told CNBC the impact from supply chain constraints may continue to plague Apple during the upcoming holiday sales.

Full story: rt.com

RT