Apple becomes the most valuable company again, overtakes THIS company in market cap

Apple reclaimed its position as the world’s most valuable company, surpassing Microsoft in market valuation. This shift highlights Apple’s push to lead in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Apple’s shares climbed over 2 per cent to reach $211.75, resulting in a market valuation of $3.25 trillion.

As the creator of the iPhone advanced in a quest to dominate artificial intelligence technology, Apple overtook Microsoft as the most valuable business in the world. Its shares jumped nearly 4% to a record $215.04, giving it a market valuation of $3.29 trillion. Microsoft's market capitalization stood at $3.24 trillion, falling behind Apple for the first time in five months.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a record high on new indications of slowing inflation, coinciding with the stock market boom.

A day after the company introduced a number of AI-enabled features and software upgrades for its devices, Apple shares had gained more than 7% in the previous session. Several experts predicted that this move would boost iPhone sales.

Executives, including CEO Tim Cook, highlighted how speech assistant Siri will be able to interact with texts, emails, calendars, and third-party apps during Apple's annual developer conference on Monday.

Michael James, managing director of equities trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, stated, "At the Worldwide Developers Conference, all those questions about Apple lagging from an AI technology standpoint were answered."

"Some of the specifics about AI capabilities that are going to be integrated into the upcoming iPhones made it very apparent that there will clearly be demand for a significant upgrade cycle."

The IT giant's stock underperformed this year compared to peers because it has lagged behind competitors like Microsoft and Alphabet, the owner of Google, in the hottest sector of artificial intelligence. However, after Apple outperformed market expectations for its quarterly results and outlook in May and revealed a record $110 billion repurchase plan, some of the concerns about its poor share performance subsided.

As of now in 2024, Apple's stock has increased by over 12%, Microsoft's by roughly 16%, and Alphabet's by almost 28%.