Microsoft is the second public company to reach the value of 2 billion dollars, only after Apple who achieved this record in October 2020. The achievement is due to a strong dominance of the company in the cloud and the growth of two verticals: business software and Xbox.
According to Bloomberg, Microsoft shares rose as much as 1.1% to $ 265.64, enough for the software company to join Apple as the only two companies to trade at such a high value. Saudi Aramco briefly eclipsed that threshold in December 2019, but it currently has a market value of around $ 1.9 billion.
The company has had 20% growth this year, adding to 2020 earnings, where the company managed to grow its cloud market by as much as 43%. In addition, the shares have appreciated 720% since Satya Nadella was appointed CEO in February 2014.
Nadella has led the company towards a cloud-first software strategy, expanding both its Azure public cloud business and cloud-based versions of Office and other software applications. In the March quarter, the company posted revenue of $ 41.7 billion, up 19% from a year ago, and ahead of the Wall Street consensus of $ 41 billion.
It is also a very attractive prelude for the company, as it is about to present its new Windows 11, a new version of the company’s flagship operating system software.
During the era of the Internet bubble, which occurred two decades ago, Microsoft reached a peak value of $ 615,000 million in December 1999, so with this record, the company has established itself as a solid technology services company.
