IBM Tops Microsoft in Market Value
International Business Machines Inc. topped rival Microsoft Corp. in market valuation for the first time since 1996, the latest sign of the technology industry’s shift in emphasis away from the personal computer.
The reversal comes more than a year after Microsoft lost its crown as most valuable technology company to Apple Inc. Microsoft’s market value peaked in late 1999 around $600 billion and has trended downward ever since, as the company has failed to replicate its dominance of PC software in markets like Internet search and mobile.
