Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) joined Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) as the second U.S. company to achieve a $2 trillion valuation on Tuesday.

What Happened: Microsoft shares touched an intraday high of $265.79 in Tuesday’s trading giving the company a valuation slightly above $2 trillion.

In August last year, Apple’s market cap rose beyond the $2 trillion mark. At the time, some analysts said that the Tim Cook-led tech giant is on its way to the $3 trillion level.

Cloud has been a key driver in the recent spurt of growth for Microsoft, with total revenue from that segment hitting $17.7 billion in the third quarter, which translates into a growth of 33% year-over-year.

As per Q3 results, the company’s intelligent cloud segment revenue stood at $15.1 billion, a growth of 23% year-over-year.

Microsoft also saw robust growth in its cloud service revenue which shot up 26% year-over-year buoyed by Azure revenue which shot up 50% year-over-year. 

Why It Matters: Year-to-date returns on Microsoft shares have eclipsed other tech giants such as cloud rival Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and even Apple. 

MSFT shares have spiked 19.4% since 2021 began, while Amazon and Apple shares rose 7.6% and 1%, respectively. 

See Also: From Amazon Towards Microsoft — Why 'Tide Is Shifting In The Cloud Arms Race'

Price Action: On Tuesday, Microsoft shares closed 1.1% higher at $265.51 in the regular session and gained another almost 0.2% in the after-hours trading.

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