Microsoft’s stock market value beats Apple’s

Microsoft Corp’s stock market value surpassed that of Apple Inc, gaining as much as $3 billion on Wednesday, as the Windows software maker benefited from optimism about demand for cloud computing services. Microsoft shares jumped 3%, taking its market capitalization to $848 billion. With the broad market rebound from a recent slump, Apple also rose, but less than Microsoft. Its 2.17% increase takes Apple’s market capitalization to $845 billion, just four months after the iPhone maker first broke the $1 trillion mark.

Microsoft and Apple briefly traded around the same level after Monday’s bell, but Microsoft’s intraday advance over Apple on Wednesday was more substantial. The market caps of both companies were calculated using outstanding shares reported in their latest 10-Q filings.

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Apple’s market cap surpassed Microsoft’s in 2010 as the Windows vendor struggled with weak demand for personal computers, in part due to the smartphone explosion driven by Apple’s iPhone. Since then, Microsoft has not closed an official trading session with a higher market value than Apple.

Shares of several cloud software makers also rose on Wednesday after upbeat quarterly results from Salesforce.com Inc boosted Wall Street expectations for the fast-growing sector, which came under pressure during the recent selloff of technology stocks. Since Satya Nadella took over as CEO in 2014, Microsoft has reduced its reliance on Windows PC software and become a major player in cloud computing, second only to Amazon.com Inc.

In recent months, tech stocks have been punished as investors fret over rising interest rates and the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war. But Apple has suffered more than other Silicon Valley stalwarts, losing 19% since the iPhone maker warned on Nov. 1 that crucial holiday quarter sales would likely miss Wall Street expectations.

Global smartphone demand has slowed in recent years, making it harder for Apple to grow revenue. Thirty-three analysts recommend buying Microsoft shares, while only one has a negative rating and another a neutral rating, according to Refinitiv data. Twenty-six analysts have positive ratings on Apple, another 16 are neutral and none recommend selling its shares.

For fiscal 2019, analysts on average expect Microsoft’s revenue to grow 11%, compared to Apple’s roughly 5%, with iPhone sales growing less than 1%, according to Refinitiv data.