Microsoft returns to the top again after falling behind Apple for most of the past decade, as Microsoft became the most valuable publicly traded company in the world as of Friday's market close.

The stock of the tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) closed at $388.47 per share on Friday, giving it a market value of $2.89 trillion, while Apple's (AAPL) stock closed at $185.92 per share, with a market value of $2.87 trillion.

Market value is the total value of all publicly traded shares of a company, in other words, it is the company's value.

Microsoft's rise to the top comes after the company had an excellent year thanks to its success in the field of generative artificial intelligence.

In 2023, the company's CEO, Satya Nadella, invested billions of dollars in AI, including marketing and adding AI tools such as ChatGPT to its product suite ahead of competitors.

He even strengthened Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, a leading company in artificial intelligence, amid board and leadership upheavals at the smaller company late last year.

Meanwhile, Apple faces a barrage of problems. iPhone sales are slowing partly due to efforts by the Chinese government to restrict purchases (Beijing denies imposing any restrictions), which has helped Chinese smartphone maker Huawei gain market share.

Apple also recently faced a short ban on sales of the latest Apple Watch models in the United States.

Microsoft declined to comment, while Apple did not respond to CNN's request for comment.