Microsoft becomes world's most-valuable company and its No 1 position also has 'Trump Tariff' message on Apple

Microsoft has once again ascended to World's Most Valuable company, overtaking Apple. Software giant Microsoft has claimed the title of the world's most valuable company as the week concluded, boasting a market capitalization of $3.235 trillion. This milestone positions them ahead of Apple, which had long held the top spot, with the iPhone maker's market cap closing on Friday (May 2) at $3.07 trillion.
Securing the third position is Nvidia, whose valuation stands at $2.76 trillion, as reported by The Information's newsletter.
The surge in Microsoft's stock price on Thursday fueled this shift, following the release of robust financial results for the March quarter that surpassed analyst forecasts. CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the sustained strong demand for the company's cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI) offerings during an investor call.
Throughout the year, Microsoft's shares have consistently outpaced Apple's, signaling growing investor confidence in the tech giant's strategic focus on AI and cloud computing. Notably, this significant post-earnings stock jump for Microsoft echoes a similar event in October 2015, when the burgeoning Azure cloud business witnessed revenue more than double, propelling shares upward by 10%, according to Investopedia.

While Apple also delivered better-than-expected first-quarter results, buoyed by strong iPhone sales, the company is facing headwinds from newly implemented tariffs under President Donald Trump.
Apple's extensive reliance on imported components within its supply chain renders it particularly vulnerable to the impact of these tariffs. Consequently, its share price has experienced a significant 18% decline since the beginning of the year, marking one of the most substantial drops among major technology companies.
Furthermore, CEO Tim Cook has indicated that Apple anticipates an additional $900 million in costs this quarter due to the tariffs, unless the current conditions change.
According to Dow Jones Market Data, as reported by NewsMax, Apple's decrease in market value represents the largest for any company at the start of this year. Among the leading tech firms, only Tesla has witnessed a steeper year-to-date decline in its shares, falling by 29%.