As of the end of July, tech giants Apple and Microsoft continue to dominate the list of the world’s most valuable companies, according to Reuters.
Apple made history as the first company to achieve a market value of $3 trillion, driven by its expansion into new markets and expectations of more moderate US interest rate hikes. Positive quarterly earnings from companies like Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Intel, and Lam Research contributed to an overall boost in market sentiment.
Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, experienced a significant market cap increase of over 10% in July, thanks to a promising revenue forecast and robust ad revenue growth in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Microsoft surpassed Wall Street estimates for its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue, fueled by growth in its cloud computing and office software businesses.
However, its share price dipped by 1.4% in July as it revealed an aggressive spending plan to meet the demand for artificial intelligence services. Despite this, Microsoft’s market cap remained strong at $2.49 trillion at the end of the month.
The financial sector also saw growth, with JP Morgan Chase’s market cap expanding by about 8.6% in July. The largest US lender benefited from higher interest payments from borrowers and its acquisition of First Republic Bank.
According to Refinitiv data, 69% of large- and mid-cap US companies have exceeded analysts’ Q2 earnings estimates thus far, with the tech sector contributing to 82% of these positive surprises.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives remains optimistic about a new tech bull market, comparing the current AI Gold Rush to the early days of the Internet rather than a bubble moment like the dot-com bubble of 1999/2000. As the market continues to evolve, investors and analysts are closely monitoring tech companies’ performance and their role in shaping the global economy.