Apple vs Microsoft
AAPLApple Inc.vs
MSFTMicrosoft Corporation- Apple: iPhone maker. The world's most valuable consumer hardware company, increasingly a services + AI play too.
- Microsoft: Cloud (Azure), enterprise software, AI partner of OpenAI. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI build-out.
- Over the past five years Apple stock returned +136% versus +50% for Microsoft, in USD. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
- They compete in the same space (Big Tech), so many investors simply own both through a broad index fund instead of picking a winner.
Shown in USD. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future results.
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Industry
- Big Tech, AI
- Big Tech, AI, Cloud / SaaS
- 1Y return (USD)
- +54.9%
- -21.4%
- 3Y return (USD)
- +70.3%
- +14.7%
- 5Y return (USD)
- +136.0%
- +49.6%
- Trades in
- USD
- USD
AppleAAPLiPhone maker. The world's most valuable consumer hardware company, increasingly a services + AI play too.
See full Apple details →MicrosoftMSFTCloud (Azure), enterprise software, AI partner of OpenAI. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI build-out.
See full Microsoft details →
Available on Interactive Brokers
Buy Apple, Microsoft and thousands of other stocks worldwide on Interactive Brokers.
Frequently asked questions
Which performed better, Apple or Microsoft?
Over the past five years Apple stock returned +136% and Microsoft returned +50% in US dollars, so Apple has been the stronger performer in that window. Past performance says little about the future, which is why the chart on this page lets you check other periods too.
Can I buy both Apple and Microsoft shares?
Yes. Nothing stops you owning both companies, and many investors do exactly that instead of trying to pick the winner. Both are available to investors worldwide through a broker such as Interactive Brokers.
Is it safer to buy an ETF instead?
A broad index fund holds hundreds of companies at once, usually including both of these, so a single bad year at one business barely dents it. Owning individual shares concentrates that risk, which is why many beginners keep single stocks to a small slice of a mostly fund-based portfolio.