Bekker's Blog

Blog archive

The Stock Market Likes Microsoft Lately

Microsoft reclaimed the silver medal Thursday in terms of market capitalization. Thanks largely to the massive slide in oil prices over the last few months, Microsoft's market cap surpassed that of Exxon Mobil Corp. when markets closed Thursday afternoon.

By the numbers, Microsoft is now at about $408.9 billion, while Exxon sits at $400.8 billion, according to Reuters. Microsoft still trails technology sector rival and overall most-valuable company Apple Inc. by a lot. Apple sits at $663 billion, and its share prices have increased faster than Microsoft's through 2014.

Google also briefly wrested the No. 2 spot from Exxon twice this year, for four days in February and two days in March. Google stock prices have declined slightly this year and its current value is $373 billion.

Nonetheless, Microsoft's stock performance under new CEO Satya Nadella has been none too shabby. Since Nadella took over on Feb. 4 of this year, Microsoft shares are up 36 percent to 49.61.

Lest you give all the credit to the new guy, Microsoft's stock has been on a pretty steady upward trajectory for a while now. Stretching back to a low in December 2012 before former CEO Steve Ballmer was even hinting at leaving, the stock is up nearly 90 percent.

With a price of 50 in range, is it crazy to wonder if MSFT could reclaim its 1999 (split-adjusted) peak of 58.72?

Posted by Scott Bekker on November 13, 2014


Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.