Microsoft achieved a $4 trillion market cap, becoming just the second company ever to reach that valuation. Microsoft is now the No. 2 most valuable company on the planet, trailing only Nvidia. The climbing valuation comes just after Microsoft laid off 9,000+ people, including major cuts at Xbox.
Microsoft reported earnings on Wednesday, and the company beat expectations. The company’s stock price jumped after that, helping push Microsoft’s total valuation above $4 trillion. The stock price has since cooled off, dropping Microsoft back below $4 trillion but still ranking No. 2 overall. Microsoft is currently trading at around $538 per share, which is up 28% year-to-date and up 163% over the past five years.
The top five companies on the planet ranked by market cap include Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, in that order.
Microsoft brought in revenue of $76.4 billion for the quarter that ended June 30, along with a profit of $27.2 billion. For the Xbox business, Microsoft reported that annual Game Pass revenue reached nearly $5 billion for the first time, with 50 million people trying Black Ops 6. Additionally, Microsoft said Xbox had 500 million monthly active users across all platforms, covering console, PC, mobile, and more.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on an earnings call that Microsoft is the “top publisher” on both Xbox and PlayStation. Newly published US video game sales data showed that Xbox games are dominating the PlayStation sales charts.
Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to invest even more in AI infrastructure and technology than before, with Microsoft upping its planned investment from $80 billion to $120 billion.
Nadella acknowledged in a memo to staff that people may wonder why Microsoft is laying off thousands of people as its business thrives. He said, “This is the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value.”
For Xbox, Microsoft’s cuts included not only layoffs but game cancellations and the closure of at least one studio. See the gallery below to learn more about the extent of the cuts.
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