Microsoft briefly crosses $3 trillion in market cap

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the CES conference in Las Vegas on Jan. 9, 2024.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Microsoft’s market cap briefly surpassed $3 trillion in intraday trading Wednesday after the stock climbed more than 1% and hit around $404 per share. The stock erased some of its gains throughout the day and closed at $401.5 per share.

The milestone comes nearly two weeks after Microsoft eclipsed Apple as the world’s most valuable public company on Jan. 12. Apple has reclaimed the No. 1 spot, and its market cap closed at around $3.01 trillion on Wednesday.

Shares of Microsoft are up more than 7% year to date as investors remain bullish about the company’s investments in artificial intelligence.

Analysts at Citi said they expect Microsoft to deliver a “solid beat” for its upcoming fiscal second-quarter earnings report, partially because of its leadership position around generative AI. The analysts raised their estimates and target price and reiterated their buy rating on the stock in a note Wednesday.

Similarly, analysts at Morgan Stanley said they believe Microsoft’s positioning and contributions related to generative AI are “getting even stronger,” according to a note Tuesday. They moved their price target to $450 from $415, and said they “remain confident in upside to our above consensus estimates.”