Apple shares have fallen recently on concerns about iPhone sales, putting the Silicon Valley tech giant at risk of overtaking Microsoft as the world's most valuable company.
New concerns about demand for smartphones have caused Apple shares to fall 4% so far in 2024, after rising 48% last year.
Microsoft shares have risen about 2% so far this year after rising 57% in 2023.
Apple shares fell 0.4% on Wednesday while Microsoft shares rose 1.6%, significantly trimming the iPhone maker's lead.
Apple's stock market cap currently stands at $2.866 trillion, while Microsoft's stock market cap is $2.837 trillion.
Apple's market cap peaked at $3.081 billion on December 14, while Microsoft's reached $2.844 billion on November 28.
iPhone sales in China fell 30% in the first week of 2024, increasing competitive pressure on iPhone makers, analysts at financial services firm Jefferies said in a note to clients this week.
The Vision Pro mixed reality headset will launch in the US on February 2, marking Apple's biggest product launch since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.
Analysts expect Vision Pro glasses sales to be relatively unimportant to Apple stock gains in 2024.
Microsoft has been briefly in the spotlight as the world's most valuable company several times since 2018, most recently in 2021 when concerns about supply chain shortages related to the coronavirus pandemic weighed on its stock price. iPhone maker shares.
Apple provided fourth-quarter revenue guidance in its November quarterly report, but it fell short of analysts' expectations due to weak demand for iPads and mobile devices.
Analysts estimate that Apple's revenues could rise by 0.7% to $117.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This increase represents the first annual increase in revenues in four quarters, and the company is expected to announce its financial results on February 1.
Analysts expect Microsoft to announce revenue growth of 16% to reach $61.1 billion when it publishes its financial results in the coming weeks, supported by continued growth in its cloud business.