Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares have been on a steady decline for three of the last four trading days. As a result, the company has shed about $3 billion in market capitalization, which has fallen from $183.66 billion at the start of business on Monday to $180.73 billion at the close of business on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been gaining today, is now in the top five tech stocks according to market cap, making it a contender to rise another spot and beat Facebook. Both companies’ gains over the last year or so have resulted in Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) being pushed out of the top five.
And within this shuffle of tech stocks, one author has noticed a very interesting trend.
Facebook remains fifth biggest tech company
Currently Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is the fifth largest by market cap within the tech industry. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) continues to hold the top spot with a market cap of around $470.45 billion. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is in second place at $397.16 billion, while Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) holds third place at $314.52 billion. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is in fourth place with a market cap of $191.2 billion.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) remains in fifth place at $173.35 billion, while Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is nipping at the social networks heels with a market cap of $173.03 billion. In fact, by the time you read this, Amazon may have passed Facebook.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), meanwhile, has dropped two slots into seventh place, with a market cap of around $169.64 billion.
Facebook passed Oracle last month
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) hasn’t been beating Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) for very long. The social network’s stock soared 150% over the last 12 months, taking its market cap up over that of Oracle and putting it in the top five for tech stocks in February. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s passing of Oracle actually happened at some point within the last 24 hours.
As John Shinal, writing in USA Today, notes, the fact that both Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) have surpassed Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) in market value is particularly interesting because it shows a shift within tech stocks. Wall Street seems to be moving away from its favoritism of enterprise-focused tech companies and shifting toward consumer-focused ones.
Interesting shift in tech stocks
Of course we still have legacy stocks Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) in the top five. IBM is also extending its lead over Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), as at the beginning of the week, its market value was $12 billion more than Facebook’s, and now it’s $18 billion more.
However, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) are both in the online advertising industry, while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a consumer-focused device company. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s movement up on the list is further indication of a shift toward consumer-oriented tech stocks.
