After Microsoft Corporation's stock rose following another quarter of results, on Friday, the company's market capitalization topped $500 billion for the first time in 17 years. The last time Microsoft was valued more was in March 2000. The shares of world's biggest software company rose as much as 2.1 percent to $65.64, which is considered as an all-time high, in early trading, valuing the company at $510.37 billion.
Microsoft's Market Value Topped $500 Billion Since 2000
The last time Microsoft was valued more was in March 2000, during the heyday of the dot-com era, when it had a market value of a little above $550 billion. Despite the earnings, Microsoft still lags Apple Inc's market capitalization of about $642 billion and Google-parent Alphabet Inc's market value of a little more than $570 billion, according to Reuters. On Thursday, Microsoft reported second-quarter results that beat analysts' average estimate for both revenue and profit, mainly due to its fast-growing cloud computing industry.
Microsoft's Growth Can Be Attributed To Satya Nadella
It is reported that Microsoft's profit and revenue have now topped Wall Street's expectations in seven of the last eight quarters. Chief Executive Satya Nadella has been working to reinvigorate Microsoft since taking over the tech giant nearly three years ago. It has also has helped build more probability around the Microsoft's efforts in areas such as cloud-based services.
When Nadella took the top job back in February 2014, the company's stock was trading at around $34 only and its market value was roughly $315 billion. "The pieces are falling into place as we are starting to see an important shift in the model, with improving profitability in growth segments," RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note. His "cloud first, mobile first" vision became a mantra for a reinvigorated Microsoft, as reported by Neowin.
While Nadella has been criticized for his handling of the phone division, almost every other department of the company has witnessed the growth with cloud leading from the front. The Microsoft Surface line, the brainchild of former CEO Steve Ballmer, really came into its own under Nadella and made the company appealing again. Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn also took place under Nadella's watch, which started an analyst to predict that the firm "will be the first ever trillion dollar company."
