On May 26, 2010, Apple crossed a milestone that would have seemed far-fetched just a decade earlier—its market cap surpassed Microsoft’s at the close of trading. Steve Jobs marked the moment with a brief, characteristically unsentimental email to the entire company. “As most of you already know, at the close of today’s stock market, Apple’s market cap surpassed Microsoft’s market cap,” Jobs wrote at 5:59 p.m. He acknowledged it was worth a pause, quoting himself from an older company email: stocks go up and down, things may be different tomorrow, but today deserved a moment of reflection.Then he moved on almost immediately.
Steve Jobs used a Walt Disney quote to keep Apple employees grounded
Jobs reached for a Walt Disney line to frame what the milestone actually meant—and what it didn’t. Disney reportedly told his team: “We’re only as good as our next picture.” Jobs adapted it without much embellishment: “We’re only as good as our next amazing new product.”The email closed with three words: “Back to work.”
Apple beat Microsoft in 2010—today, both sit behind Nvidia
The context makes the 2010 milestone more striking. Apple had nearly gone bankrupt in 1997 before Jobs returned and restructured the company. By May 2010, the iPhone and iPad had repositioned Apple as a consumer electronics powerhouse, while Microsoft was navigating a slower, enterprise-heavy growth trajectory.At the time, Apple’s market cap hit roughly $222 billion against Microsoft’s $219 billion. The gap widened sharply in the years that followed—but neither company holds the top spot today. As of now, Nvidia leads all publicly traded companies at $4.2 trillion, with Apple and Alphabet both sitting at $3.7 trillion. Microsoft has slipped to $2.8 trillion, fourth on the list.Jobs never sent a follow-up email.
Read Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ full email to employees
From: Steve Jobs To: Apple employees Subject: Today Date: May 26, 2010, 5:59 p.m.Team,As most of you already know, at the close of today’s stock market, Apple’s market cap (stock price × number of shares) surpassed Microsoft’s market cap.As I once said in a company email sent a long time ago: “Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today.” And so it is again.Walt Disney used to say to his team: “We’re only as good as our next picture.” Well, we’re only as good as our next amazing new product.Back to work… Steve
