Google moved past Microsoft to become the world’s second largest technology company by market value. Bloomberg reported that Google’s share price rose to $758.94 at 9:50 a.m., bringing the search giant to a total market capitalization of about $248.8 billion. In terms of market cap, Google still trails Apple by a large margin, as the iPhone maker is valued at $623.13 billion.
Observers have noted that Google’s passing Microsoft is in some ways representative of the continuing expansion of the range of tasks that used to be confined to the traditional desktop or laptop computing space but can now be accomplished with Internet-based services.
While Microsoft still dominates the PC marketplace — 92 percent of PCs worldwide run some version of Windows — mobile devices running Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system continue to grow in popularity. Recent analyses of the computing sector show mobile devices outpacing PCs, with most traditional PC makers experiencing sales declines as customers opt for smartphones and tablets.
