Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could be heading for another negative milestone. Apple Insider’s Shane Cole reports that the company is heading toward losing its position as the S&P 500’s top mover. And what may be even worse is that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), a company many have written off as nothing but a digital dinosaur, could take over that top spot.
Apple declines, while Microsoft gains
It has been a pretty tough year for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) but a relatively good one for Microsoft. Since the S&P 500 is a weighted index based on market capitalization, some companies have more power than others over the index. As the world’s most valuable company, Apple has a massive market cap which works against it in a big way in a weighted index like the S&P 500. The company’s heft has meant that the further down it falls, the more its standing within the index is hurt.
Apple’s weight within the S&P is about 3%, making this year’s 1% decline in stock price so far this year really pull it down. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s weight within the S&P is about 2%, which is the third highest after Apple and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). Shares of Microsoft have blossomed this year, surging almost 40%, while Exxon Mobil’s performance has remained rather lackluster. As a result, Microsoft could end up being the S&P 500’s top leader at the end of the year—a position Apple has held for the last four years.
And that isn’t the only negative milestone Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may hit this year in regards to the S&P 500. Because of its massive market cap, the company could end the year as the index’s largest drag. That’s according to data from Bloomberg. Apple has slumped 13.74 points so far this year, while Microsoft Corporation has gained 9.2 points for the index this year.
