Microsoft's stock price has been stagnant for years. This is a bummer, especially for employees of Microsoft. Back in the old days, employees would eventually gain wealth by obtaining stock options coupled with a rising stock price. Stock splits would go hand in hand with a continually rising Microsoft stock price. This is no more.Apple is the hot company in town. Their stock price is on the rise. Their market capitalization has surpassed Microsoft. This is most surprising as they were in trouble financially in the past. The market cap is not to say that Apple makes money more than Microsoft. This also does not mean that they do more sales than Microsoft. It just means that investors predict that Apple is going to be worth more in the future. Why is this so?
In the past, Apple was a computer system company. They still sell Mac computers. However their rising stock comes from profits in a number of non-computer electronics such as music players and selling the music that goes with them. Then there is the iPhone phenomenon. I keep hearing that cell phones are the future. But are Apple iPhones a future cash cow? I am not sure. Steve Jobs is on a roll. Can Microsoft turn the tide and innovate on their own? It might be that copying other peoples' ideas is no longer favored in the investor community.
