Microsoft Inc.'s stock closed yesterday, Friday, up by 1%, bringing the company's market value to $2.887 trillion, surpassing Apple as the most valuable company in the world for the first time since 2021.

Apple's stock rose by 0.18% at Friday's close, reaching a market value of $2.875 trillion.

Saudi oil company Aramco retained the third position with a value of $7.948 trillion.

Apple had held the top spot among the world's most valuable companies for years and was crowned last December when its market value exceeded $3 trillion.

Second place again

The rise in Apple’s stock, which increased by 54% during the first 11 months of 2023, was supported by the launch of its new iPhone series and MacBook devices announced in September, and the increase in profitability of its services unit.

Apple, founded in 1976 and a leader in the smartphone world, revealed that the third quarter of last year was its most profitable ever, and analysts at the time expected the company to break records during the last quarter covering the holiday season.

However, Apple issued last quarter's forecasts lower than analysts' expectations, including a decline in iPhone demand, and orders from China were also lower than expected, which contributed to a 0.6% decline in its stock since the beginning of this year.

Apple will release its last quarter earnings results in early February.

Apple had lost the top spot as the world’s most valuable company a few times since 2011, one of which was briefly in 2019 with the listing of Saudi Aramco.

Microsoft regains the top spot

Microsoft has long contended for the top of the world's most valuable companies and reached it briefly at Apple's expense, most recently in 2021 due to concerns over Apple's supply chains as the effects of COVID-19 continued.

Microsoft stock has risen 3.9% since the beginning of this year, supported by the artificial intelligence technology ChatGPT, which Microsoft incorporated into its latest software and devices in collaboration with its technology developer partner, OpenAI.

The rise in Microsoft’s stock was also helped by the end of the crisis over ChatGPT founder Sam Altman's departure and his reinstatement as CEO of OpenAI at the end of November.

Analysts expect Microsoft to achieve a 16% increase in revenue in the last quarter to $61.1 billion, with the company announcing its earnings results on the 23rd of this month.