The continued slide lower in shares of Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) has again made Microsoft (MSFT) the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
AAPL stock has fallen 23% over the past four trading sessions, pushing its market capitalization to $2.59 trillion and placing Microsoft in first place with a market value of $2.64 trillion. Nvidia is in third place with a current market cap of $2.35 trillion. Less than a year ago, each of the three companies was worth more than $3 trillion.
While the entire stock market is being battered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, AAPL stock is being particularly hard hit because its iPhones are made almost entirely in China, which is facing a 104% import tariff from the American government. Other hard hit technology stocks include electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) and e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN), which are also exposed to China.
Shifting Fortunes
The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite index has declined 13% in the past week as President Trump’s tariffs on imports from more than 100 countries has sparked fears of an economic catastrophe. The sharp decline in the market has led to shifting fortunes among the mega-cap technology stocks.
However, while MSFT stock is back on top in terms of market capitalization, its share price has also been beaten down in recent trading sessions. In fact, Microsoft’s stock is down 16% over the past 12 months and currently trading near a 52-week low. Even before Trump’s tariffs, Microsoft was hurt by poor revenue guidance and concerns over its heavy spending on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
Is MSFT Stock a Buy?
Microsoft’s stock has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 35 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 32 Buy and three Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average price target on MSFT stock of $509.17 implies 43.61% upside from current levels.
