Microsoft has become the second company ever to achieve a $3 trillion market valuation, closing at the market cap for the first time today just after it laid of 1900 workers from its gaming divisions.
It first crossed the $3 trillion mark yesterday, but dipped back below before close of markets before climbing again and closing at $3.01 trillion today, or $404.87 per share. It’s the second company ever to reach this milestone, after Apple, which achieved it in December of last year and has since been vying with Microsoft for the moniker of most valuable company on Wall Street. As The Verge notes, much of the hype around Microsoft stock has come from a recent dedication to AI announcements, with numerous new product announcements bolstering the stock significantly from week to week.
This triumph of stock occurs on the same day that Microsoft laid off 1900 workers from its gaming division, in some ways a massive ripple effect from the company’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard closing last year. Many of the impacted workers came from Activision Blizzard divisions, including a number from a now-canceled survival game. Gaming head Phil Spencer described the layoffs as part of “a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business.” Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra also announced he would be departing the company.
Almost exactly one year ago, Microsoft laid off 10,000 people across all its divisions, including a number from its gaming divisions. In its most recent earnings (released in October of 2023, covering the quarter ending September 2023) Microsoft reported $56.5 billion in revenue up 13% year over year, and Xbox content and services revenue up 13% year-over-year. The company is expected to release its full-year earnings for 2023 next week.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
