On Wednesday Apple did what was long believed impossible–it surpassed long-time competitor Microsoft in valuation for the first time in twenty years.  At the end of the trading day, Apple was up about $3 billion against Microsoft, sitting at roughly $222 billion.  These figures mean a lot of things, but one defining statement just rolls off the tongue: Apple is officially worth more than Microsoft; Apple is more valuablethan the tech beast that is Microsoft.  This is a very significant development for the tech company that could.  For as long as these two companies existed, heated competition paved the way for innovation.  Apple came first, but Microsoft quickly scooped up market and mind share with their leads in software.  Nowadays, however, things are quickly changing as Apple has jumped into various tech industries beyond the PC including music players, phones, tablets, and the TV.  Apple is gaining the mind share back, and according to these latest financial numbers, they have sprinted past Microsoft in the list of worthiness.  Apple fanboys, don’t get too excited though; the two tech companies are neck-and-neck in the charts and things can change on a day-by-day basis.  In fact, as of right now (5/28, mid-afternoon) Apple (AAPL) leads Microsoft (MSFT) 232.31 billion to 225.58 billion in market capitalization.  These numbers fluctuate, but for now, Apple’s in the lead.  Congratulations to Team Apple; you’ve made it to the top of the heap.

Update: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer downplays the shift in market value: “We are executing very well, that’s going to lead to great products and great success.  I will make more profits and certainly there is no technology company on the planet which is as profitable as we are.  Stock markets will take care of the rest.”  Though he does not mention Apple specifically, he does go on to say: “it is a long game”…”we have good competitors …”we too are very good competitors.”  He also went on to address the recent company shakeup with these choice words: he “wouldn’t predict any drastic changes” in company strategy and “we’ll have to accelerate plans.”  Plans for what, Mr. Ballmer?  Time will tell.

[Via Engadget, here & here; CNET; YahooFinance; WSJ]