“Apple looks poised to get within $50 billion of Microsoft market cap any day now,” TechCrunch writes. “Currently, Apple’s market cap is $208.76 billion, while Microsoft’s is $261.01 billion. And while $50 billion may seem like a huge chasm, consider that since December 31, 2009, just a few months ago, Apple has added about $20 billion to its market cap, while Microsoft has lost about $10 billion. Again, the gap is closing, quickly.”
“At $300-a-share, assuming the number of shares remains fairly constant, Apple would be worth $270 billion. Yes, ahead of Microsoft (assuming their market cap remains the same over that time),” TechCrunch writes. “If that happens (and again, I venture to say it will happen), Apple fanboys will go through the roof… Here’s the real problem for Microsoft, though. If Apple does in fact pass Microsoft in market cap, I can see CEO Steve Ballmer losing it, and that could steal his focus away from what should still be considered his real enemy: Google.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The answer to the headline is, of course: Party!
i get drunk!
I just hope Ballmer doesn’t loose his job over it
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There will be a brief period where Apple passes MS but it won’t last long – initially. Perhaps one party that first time but a really big party after a month with a bigger cap.
I have a special bottle tucked away for that very day. Hurry up AAPL. Also if it reaches 300 that’ll finance my next iMacs and MBP’s. What’s not to love about this.
The ground will shake… and from the dark tower in Redmond there will come a hailstorm of office furniture…!
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Good point occams razor. How many Macs have been purchased with profits from AAPL?
I know I have a couple.
“Apple’s stock [was] up over $3 [Friday] pushing it past the $230-a-share mark. Microsoft’s is down $0.25, pushing it below the $30-a-share mark. While this discrepancy is huge on the surface, it doesn’t mean all that much because there are many, many more outstanding shares of Microsoft stock out there on the market (ten times more, in fact). That’s why Microsoft’s market cap is higher than Apple’s, despite the individual stock price difference,”
Wow, that’s complex math.
Stating the obvious.
But I do feel the excitement coming, like when you’re preparing the party!
Loose his job? As opposed to tightening it?
Give me a break, it’s Sunday morning and I’m still on my first cup
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So potentially Balmer will focus on Apple rather than Google? Even if that were true, so what? Surely that’s only of benefit to Apple with Balmer’s track record.
And I’m bummed out, found out yesterday I have a friend flying down to Mexico on the 10th. I had planned on ordering an iPad to be delivered to him , when I got home, found out it would now be an April 12 delivery 🙁
Party like it’s 1989!!!
Wow. Now you seriously delusional MAC sheep can officially be declared insane. Leave the manufactured fear and outright falsehoods to the Republicants.
Bing, Zune and Windows Phone 7 have you crybabies crapping your pants. Will overpriced and proprietary MAC pass Microsoft in anything? Hell No! They still can’t ship a two-button mouse. If I were one of you MAC cultists I would question why MAC doesn’t license Windows. It’s their last chance.
Your potential. Our passion.™
Ah, no epic battle can be complete without a troll!
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Apple should replace Micosoft on the Dow.
The Tech sector has never particularly been favored in the Dow industrials, however, when you consider Apple is worth more than many of the existing members, the Dow should realize Technology is the future and Apple is its name!
With the overwhelming order response to the iPad revolution, continuing inroads in computers, then iAd about to melt down Google, and likely whole new approach to television waiting in the wings, Apple won’t just blow past microsoft’s market cap, it will be bigger than Exxon.
Ballmer is gonna FREAK OUT.
*raises glass*… as long as it takes, baby.
Sad.
Soon the struggling for becoming one of the biggest (the biggest) will be over. It’s really nearing now.
That’s why reading Zune Tangs’ comments was so amusing.
Now it’ becoming more and more pathetic.
Will we ever feel nostalgic about the time we had only a small amount of market share et al?
I love it when the MS faithful lash out in fear when their precious crown is threatened. I invite them to posture all they can. Their braying doesn’t change the numbers. But the two button mouse arguement was VERY stinging. I don’t know how I’ll manage to go on with an interface that only ever needed one button on a mouse. Perhaps Apple can copy the two button mouse like when they copied the Zune and called it an iPod? But wait. Didn’t Apple have a GUI and mouse BEFORE Microsoft?
I don’t know how these things work, really. But this is what I have observed:
It seems that the determinant of how well the stock does is not how well a company performs, but how well it performs compared with the predictions of market analysts and whether it projects better performance than analysts expect it to on quarterly announcements. Apple has generally projected conservatively. Whenever they have a new product, they seem to be even more conservative.
The stock took a hit after iPhone came out because of its conservative projections, but then recovered as Apple consistently did better then expected. Then it took a hit when the economy turned negative simply because everyone thought Apple would not be able to meet expectations, but it did better than that so it recovered and is peaking now.
So, my hunch is Apple will begin to project more conservatively again now that the iPad is coming out. With everyone predicting it’s going to be a big hit, that conservative projection is likely to contrast badly with market expectations and the stock will take a hit. It will take a year for the stock to get back to where it is now.
That’s about all of my amateurish financial deductive reasoning can do. Buy when the stock dips, because it will peak again.
@aaplause
I’m sure we will be a bit nostalgic… when we were a small but fine community around the mac… It was great, when you found another mac-guy and had a chat about the greatness of multitasking ability. But then there was also a lot of frustration, especially the windows95 time was pain…
and what would Ballmer say? Bing!
Apples Market Cap will NEVER pass Microsofts. The only reason Apples stock price has jumped so much is over anticipation the iPad will be a big hit.
After impressive pre-orders, the iPad will have disappointing numbers because once the fan-boys are finished with the first round of sales, most will realize that there is no real market for this thing. If you have an iphone or a netbook/laptop you simply don’t need it.
The article also uses false logic, that Microsoft’s stock will just sit there at the same value. Windows 7 sales have been impressive, and they have products coming to market that will move their stock price higher (including Project Nadal for the Xbox, and their own slate computing device – i.e. “Courier” which looks like a slate device people actually might get some use out of).
On top of everything else, PC manufacturers are releasing a dozen slate PC’s this year with most running some form of Windows 7. the iTampon is not the only game in town.
@ Zune Tang®,
” Leave the manufactured fear and outright falsehoods to the Republicants.”
Uh-oh, betcha John Boehner will declare you a “dead man”. Look for the tea bagger mob to show up in your home town any minute. Gotta love all of those “patriots”.
Is Ampar actually Zune Tang?
I think so.