Changes at the Top

For years, Apple was the most valuable corporation in the world, with its market valuation exceeding $1 trillion for a time. That changed at the end of November, when Apple stumbled and Microsoft beat it out. November was the first time in eight years that Microsoft was bigger than Apple.

But Microsoft's reign at the top ended up lasting just over a month. Amazon.com reached $797 billion in market value yesterday, overtaking Microsoft's roughly $788 billion valuation to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the U.S.

For its part, Apple isn't even Number Three anymore. Apple finished yesterday with a market cap of $702 billion, placing it at Number Four behind Google-parent Alphabet’s $746 billion.