The host sees a change in the throne – E24

A wave of artificial intelligence and doubts about iPhone sales are contributing to the turmoil at the Wall Street summit.

Last week, Microsoft once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company.

The company, which was started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, has a market capitalization of approximately $2,900 billion, or approximately 30,000 billion Norwegian kroner.

Historically, the world's most valuable companies have reflected developments in society, and over the years sectors such as oil, IT and technology have dominated the top of the list.

Now artificial intelligence plays an important role in increasing the market value of technology giants. Experts believe that Microsoft's performance was better than Apple's.

“I think it's a change of throne,” says Robert Ness, chief investment officer and director at Nordea Asset Management.

-You have to go in strong

according to Reuters Microsoft ended Friday with a higher market value than Apple, for the first time in two years. Earlier this week, Microsoft temporarily passed During the dayDuring the dayWhile trading on the stock exchange continues.

Apple has dominated since early 2010, buoyed by the success of the iPhone. Microsoft briefly held the throne during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, but Apple has repeatedly regained that position.

The stock market has performed very well in 2023, despite the turbulent situation the world is in. The intense faith among investors in artificial intelligence gets a lot of credit.

Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT language model that has become the face of artificial intelligence.

Apple should note that if it wants to maintain its position as one of the most innovative technology companies, it will have to turn more heavily to artificial intelligence, says Gene Munster, president of the American management company Deepwater Asset Management, The New York Times.

Meanwhile, concerns about iPhone sales, especially in China, weighed on Apple stock in the early days of the year. This has caused many analysts covering Apple to downgrade the stock, according to Financial Times.

– Is the situation

Næss says he's surprised Apple is up so much on the stock market.

– They have not had significant earnings growth in recent years. The company's price is 30 times earnings. Microsoft has had better earnings growth and has much stronger potential.

Now many people are wondering whether the AI-driven stock rally can continue.

– It was the only thing people talked about last year. Microsoft may have exhausted its potential, even if AI is as groundbreaking as the Internet.

For Apple, the battle is over whether the company will be able to be the first to use artificial intelligence on mobile phones, according to the official.

– Then Apple can pass. But the main scenario is that Microsoft will be the largest in the coming years, Ness believes.

– But why does it matter who is the most valuable company in the world?

-There is basically no advantage if one company is slightly larger than another. It shouldn't matter much. The important thing is to be the biggest in your field. If Samsung beats Apple, it will be bad for Apple because they are not the best in mobile phones anymore. It's the case, and it can help you when you're hiring people. But Apple won't notice a drop in sales because it's no longer the largest, Ness says.