After Apple, Google too soared past Microsoft in terms of market value on Monday to become the second-richest firm in the tech world.
Looks like the unstoppable Microsoft has its market value surpassed by 2 of their fiercest competitors. While Google has now officially passed Microsoft, their value is still less than half of Apple's $627 billion.
According to a Bloomberg report, Google rose 1 percent to $761.78 at the close in New York, gaining a market capitalization of about $249.9 billion. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, fell less than 1 percent to $29.49, for a valuation of $247.2 billion.
Eight years after going public, internet search giant Google, is now bigger than Microsoft for the first time. Reuters
Google's market value also edged past that of Wal-Mart Stores, making it the third most valuable US company behind Apple and Exxon Mobil.
"The PC hardware business is obviously struggling," said Martin Pyykkonen, a Wedge Partners Corp analyst from Colorado, speaking to Bloomberg.
"The transition here is pretty straightforward in terms of where things have moved to and certainly that's cloud, that's Web."
Google's stock price has risen 48% in the past year, fueled by a stabilizing search advertising business and investor enthusiasm over the company's growing wireless segment. The shares got a further boost last week from a Citigroup note advising investors that the Google stock price could "rise significantly in the 12 months ahead."
This success could partly be because of the failure of its competitors. Says Wall Street Journal, " Apple remains the most valuable company in the world, but the proven quality of Google's technology is attracting investor confidence and driving shares higher.
The short-term gain can also be attributed to Apple's iOS 6 and maps fiasco.
Also Google's mobile operating system Android is the world leader, and it continues to gain market share at almost everyone's expense.
Google is also expected to topple Facebook and Yahoo this year as the leader in online display advertising, bringing in $2.31 billion in display ad revenue, according to eMarketer.
