Apple passes Microsoft to be biggest tech company

Apple has pushed past arch-rival Microsoft to become the world's biggest technology company.

Changes in the share price values of the two in Wednesday's choppy trading left the total value of Apple at $222bn (£154bn).

Microsoft is now valued by investors at $219bn.

However, Microsoft still enjoys higher profits than Apple. Its most recent annual net profit was $14.6bn (£10bn), compared with $5.7bn for Apple.

Microsoft also reported bigger full-year revenues of $58.4bn, with Apple on $36.5bn.

Apple's shares closed Wednesday trading down 0.4% at $244.11, while Microsoft fell by 4% to $25.01.

iPhone boost

The value of a listed company, known as market capitalisation, is calculated by multiplying the number of shares in a company by the current share price.

Apple, which makes computers, iPods, iPhones and now iPads, almost went out of business in the 1990s.

Its growth is partly owing to the launch of the iPod in 2001.

Although the iPod works with computers running Microsoft's Windows operating systems, it encouraged more people to to buy one of Apple's computers.

The big popularity of the iPhone, which has become a big seller since it was first released in 2007, has further boosted Apple's profits and revenues.

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