While most of the financial world has been focused on Microsoft surpassing Apple as the world’s most valuable company, Amazon quietly stole the
top spot for a brief moment on Monday (December 3), according to the
Financial Times.
Apple was just toppled last week as the most valuable for the first time in eight years, amid uncertainty about the trade war between the U.S. and China, and whether Apple products would be subjected to tariffs.
However, with shares up 5.2 percent and a market cap of $870 billion, Amazon beat out the giant by a few hundred million this morning, even though Apple shares were up 2.1 percent at the time, above Amazon.
The afternoon proved different though. Amazon shares receded slightly and Apple extended its lead to 2.7 percent. Apple took the title from ExxonMobil in 2011.
Microsoft’s dominance isn’t as much due to a stock surge as an Apple sink. The three-way race between the tech giants is so volatile mainly because of investors’ concern about iPhone sales, which dragged Apple shares down. Amazon had a large bounce after a brutal October where it shed one-fifth of its value.
The Amazon drop happened after the online giant unveiled a lower-than-expected earnings report and soft projections for the holiday season. That sent shares plummeting, according to Fortune.
Earlier in the year, Amazon joined Apple as the second company to be valued at $1 trillion, when its shares passed $2,050.27 in early September and hit a record high of $2,050.50.
Apple lost that trillion-dollar distinction in late October. Apple also reported recently that it wouldn’t disclose iPhone, iPad and Mac sales by unit anymore. That
news sparked some uncertainty and a belief that Apple may have something to hide, according to a report.
Apple’s financial chief Luca Maestri said unit sales are “not particularly relevant for our company at this point,” and they are “not necessarily representative of the underlying strength of our business.”
