Apple Reclaims Title of World's Most Valuable Company Ahead of Microsoft

After a five-month gap, Apple has reclaimed the top spot as the world's most valuable publicly traded company. On Wednesday, Apple's stock price jumped nearly 4% to a record high of $215.04, giving the iPhone maker a market capitalisation of $3.29 trillion. It propelled Apple ahead of Microsoft, whose market cap stood at $3.24 trillion at the close of trading.

Apple retaking the top spot aligns with its ambitious push into artificial intelligence with a new platform called Apple Intelligence. While details are still emerging, the AI tools will be integrated into the upcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia operating systems and will likely be exclusive to Apple's top-tier devices.

Apple's shift to AI and software enhancements, revealed at WWDC 2024 this week, could drive further iPhone sales growth. Features such as expanded Siri capabilities that integrate with messages, email and third-party apps are aimed at keeping Apple competitive in the fast-growing AI domain, where Microsoft and Google have taken early leads.

Apple's shares have risen about 12% so far in 2024 while still trailing Nvidia. The gains have outpaced Microsoft and narrowed the performance gap, reestablishing Apple's position as the most valuable company for now.