Shaking off its reputation as a lumbering dinosaur, Microsoft and its new CEO Satya Nadella have surpassed oil producer ExxonMobil to become the second-richest company in the world at US$410bn.
In recent months, Microsoft has undergone a massive overhaul in terms of its business development focus and its job numbers. Last July, the company announced it was going to cut as many as 18,000 jobs worldwide to facilitate this new focus.
This has seemingly struck a chord with investors. Microsoft has seen a significant growth in its stock value that saw it surpass ExxonMobil’s value of US$404bn, which has also been affected by the current drop in oil prices.
To get an indication of its resurgence in recent years, since April 2013, Microsoft’s stock has increased by 70pc following a US$2bn stock investment by the firm ValueAct Capital which soon saw Steve Ballmer ending his time as CEO, something AP reported was claimed to have been unrelated.
Despite its growth, Microsoft firmly remains in the shadow of the world’s most valuable company, Apple, which is currently worth a staggering US$668bn, no doubt buoyed by the recent release of its new range of iPhones, iPads and the upcoming Apple Watch.
This amount puts it higher than when Microsoft reached its highest point in 1999 when it was valued at US$616bn.
New York Stock Exchange image via Shutterstock
