Published on the 24/05/2011 | Written by Newsdesk
While the lead may be only temporary, IBM has indeed edged out old rival Microsoft for the first time since April 1996, becoming the second most valuable tech company in the US, behind market leader Apple Inc…
At close of trading last week, IBM’s market value had hit $207 billion, with Microsoft coming in at just $206 billion.
Although technically Microsoft remains more profitable than IBM, IBM’s share price has soared in the last ten years as the company has reinvented itself as a business software, server and consulting specialist, while Microsoft has found itself struggling to move beyond its already well-established product stack.
IBM dominated the market in the early eighties, hiring Microsoft to provide the operating system for its burgeoning home PC. By the end of the nineties however, Microsoft’s software developments had reversed the companies’ market positions, with that position prevailing until the bubble burst on internet technology in 2000.
According to Reuters data, Apple’s market value stood at $309.2 billion on Monday, IBM at $203.8 billion and Microsoft at $203.7 billion.
