Amazon on Wednesday surpassed Microsoft's market value for the first time. As first noted by CNBC, Amazon's market value reached $702.5 billion at the close of trading on Wednesday, surpassing Microsoft's cap of $699.2 billion at the same time.
Following the start of trading on Thursday, Microsoft reclaimed its spot ahead of Amazon, but the two companies have remained neck and neck throughout the day. Both companies are among the most valuable in the world, with only Apple and Alphabet coming in ahead of them. Tencent and Facebook round out the six biggest companies by market cap, according to CNBC.
The tussle mirrors one that saw Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos become the world's richest person last summer, overtaking a spot previously held by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. At the time, the shift came as Amazon's share price rose by 1.3 percent, bringing Bezos' net worth north of 90 billion. The shift didn't last long: Bezos dipped below Gates again later that day. However, Bezos has since reclaimed the title with a current net worth of $121 billion to Gates' $91.1 billion, according to Bloomberg's billionaire tracker.
