Microsoft enters $4 trillion market cap, joins Nvidia in exclusive club
The company's stock has climbed about 28 per cent since January and rebounded nearly 50 per cent from April lows triggered by Trump's tariff offensive.
The surge follows a strong quarterly report on Wednesday. Microsoft forecast a record '$30 billion in capital spending' for the current fiscal first quarter to power its AI growth and reported robust sales in its Azure cloud business. Analysts noted that Microsoft's Copilot AI is driving 'meaningful growth' in the Microsoft 365 enterprise suite.
The milestone comes just 18 months after it hit the $3 trillion mark, and a few weeks after Nvidia became the first company to top $4 trillion. Apple was last valued at $3.12 trillion.
Recent breakthroughs in US trade talks ahead of Trump's August 1 tariff deadline have also buoyed stocks, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs.
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Trump has insisted that overseas manufacturers will pay the tariffs by reducing their prices to offset the duties. Yet the pre-tariff prices of imports haven't fallen much since the levies were put in place. Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that foreign manufacturers have absorbed just 14 per cent of the duties through June, while 22 per cent has been paid by consumers and 64 per cent by US companies. Based on previous patterns, however — such as Trump's 2018 duties on washing machines — the economists expect that by this fall consumers will bear 67 per cent of the burden, while foreign exporters pay 25 per cent and US companies handle just 8 per cent. Many large US companies are raising prices in response to the tariffs, including apparel makers Ralph Lauren and Under Armour, and eyewear company Warby Parker. 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'Now, they are going up, we've seen that." (AP) GSP (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments News agency-feeds US inflation unchanged last month, though core prices accelerated Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Read More
