In 2010, when Apple’s stock market value surpassed Microsoft’s (News - Alert), many industry analysts saw it as a massive turning point in the tech industry. Now a company that didn’t even exist 15 years ago, Google, just did the same thing. A slight bump in Google’s (News - Alert) share price and a drop in Microsoft’s on Monday gave Google a market capitalization of $249.19 billion, just ahead of Microsoft’s $247.44 billion.

Being the third most valuable company in the United States and just behind Apple (News - Alert) and Exxon Mobil, Google’s market value even edged past that of Wal-Mart Stores. Market value is determined by multiplying a company’s stock price by the number of shares it has outstanding.

The news signifies the fact that the technology industry has entered what some call a post-PC era. The growth opportunities ahead for Google, a company whose fortunes are predicated on the Internet and increasingly on mobile devices and services, are tremendous. Investors are starting to grow more confident and optimistic. 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Meanwhile, even though Microsoft’s software business is still largely beholden, it has not been able to shake the view. Although still highly profitable, Microsoft’s software business is not growing the way it once was.

Some time ago, Microsoft had one of the technology industry’s highest-flying stocks but over the past decade, its shares have stagnated after numerous huge investments made by the company, especially in the consumer market which has failed to pay off. A distant second in the market behind Google, its Bing search engine has also been termed a big money loser. Not to mention, Apple and Google have marginalized the mobile software business by introducing their iPhone (News - Alert) and Android products.

“People have failed to give them a deeper multiple because everyone thinks they’re on the downhill,” said Brant Thrill, an analyst at UBS. Tony Imperati, a spokesman for Microsoft, and spokeswoman for Google, Niki Fenwick, both declined to comment.

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