- Apple and Microsoft both closed Wednesday’s trading session with a market cap of $1.5 trillion, as NASDAQ hits 10,000.
The Nasdaq Composite hit 10,000 for the first time amid market mania this past week. The large round number felt like a fitting milestone for the crucial role that tech played in keeping markets afloat over the last few months.
An equally remarkable feat came inside the celebration: Apple and Microsoft both closed Wednesday’s trading session with a market value of $1.5 trillion, the first time any American stock had reached this level, and the twin titans of American technology crossed the line together.
Microsoft and Apple came into being in 1975 and 1976, respectively, one year apart. Through their long public-market history — Apple went public in 1980 and Microsoft in 1986—they’ve carved out different markets. Apple is for customers. The company has gone from desktops to mobile phones but it hasn’t changed the target market. Microsoft is targeting the company. And although its market has increasingly changed from boxed to cloud applications, its clients remain the same.
Both companies are characterized by their founders — Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are probably the two most important people in the history of computing — but, surprisingly, under successor CEOs, the majority of the value of the companies was established.
In the case of Apple, since Cook took the reins in 2011, 86 percent of the current market value of the company has been generated. At Microsoft, Satya Nadella, who took over for Gates’ successor Steve Ballmer as Microsoft CEO in 2014, accounted for 80 percent of value creation. The most critical thing for the organization is seeking a great leader. Microsoft and Apple prove the case.
Facebook, Apple, and Amazon all increased by more than 3 percent on Tuesday, while Microsoft appeared by around 0.8 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose for the first time by 0.3 percent, rising briefly above 10,000. The S&P 500 dropped by around 0.8%.
The four companies’ combined market value now stands at nearly $ 5 trillion, with Apple claiming nearly $ 1.5 trillion as of the top spot. Facebook is the only company to have a market value of under $1 trillion.
Google’s parent company is Alphabet and is the only one of the five biggest tech companies that can not be sold at an all-time peak. It’s still about 5 percent behind its $1,524.87 all-time high, where it closed on Feb. 19.
