Microsoft joins Apple in $2 trillion market cap club
Demand for Microsoft's products has soared since the pandemic forced many people to stay home.
Microsoft's stock is up 64% since the pandemic forced people to work and learn remotely.
Microsoft joined an exclusive club on Tuesday, becoming only the second US public company to reach a market capitalization of $2 trillion.
The company hit the threshold as shares rose as much as 1.2% before sliding back a little to close at $265.51, up 1.1%, and giving the company a closing market cap of $1.99 trillion. The milestone comes two years after the company surpassed the $1 trillion market cap mark.
Microsoft hit the lofty market cap roughly 10 months after fellow tech giant Apple hit the mark in August 2020. Apple currently has a market cap of $2.23 trillion.
Oil company Saudi Aramco, which trades on the Saudi Tadawul exchange, surpassed the $2 trillion mark on its second day of trading in 2019 but had a market cap of $1.88 trillion on Tuesday.
Microsoft's shares have been boosted, in part, by the pandemic. As lockdowns forced many to begin working and learning remotely more than a year ago, demand has increased for Microsoft's software and cloud computing services. Since stay-at-home orders went into effect in March 2020, Microsoft's stock is up more than 64%.
In April, Microsoft posted a third-quarter profit of $14.8 billion, up 38% from the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter was up 19%.
"Over a year into the pandemic, digital adoption curves aren't slowing down," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement at the time. "They're accelerating, and it's just the beginning."
Amazon and Google are also gunning to join the $2 trillion club. Coming in at No. 3 on the list of largest tech companies by market cap is Amazon, with a $1.76 trillion valuation, followed closely by Google's $1.67 trillion.