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Tech

A first: Microsoft inches past IBM in annual revenue

By
Stacy Jones
Stacy Jones
and
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Stacy Jones
Stacy Jones
and
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 5, 2015, 5:56 PM ET
Chart by Stacy Jones

Here’s an interesting tidbit. Microsoft(MSFT) has overtaken IBM(IBM)in annual revenue for the first time. Mind you, it wasn’t by much: Microsoft revenue stands at $93.58 billion compared to IBM’s $92.79 billion, according to company earnings reports.

Microsoft eclipsed IBM in market cap in the late 90s. Its market cap is now about $381.3 billion versus $155.85 billion for Big Blue, but in terms of revenue, this is all new.

Taking a peek at other tech industry veterans (or dinosaurs, as some on Twitter put it), Intel(INTC) revenue was flat to slightly up over the past five years and stands at about $55.87 billion now. And Dell weighed in at the $54.9 billion mark when it went private in late 2013. It is now off the relevant financial charts, which is probably why Michael Dell wanted out of the public markets in the first place.

As for Apple? Those iPads and iPhones pulled in $187.29 billion in revenue annually. Yowza.

In the fullness of time, it’s striking that Apple(AAPL), which suffered a near-death experience in the late 1990s when it was partially bailed out by Microsoft, now pulls in so much more than either of those companies. As for market cap, Apple’s weighs in at $657.52 billion—more than the IBM and Microsoft figures combined.

Not sure anyone would have called that 20 years ago.

About the Authors
By Stacy Jones
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Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
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