Two of the world's most valuable companies, Microsoft and Apple, represent fundamentally different bets on where technology investing is headed in 2026: one built around cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure, the other anchored in hardware loyalty and a record-setting iPhone cycle. With combined market capitalizations exceeding $7 trillion, the comparison between the two stocks has become one of the most closely watched matchups among mega-cap tech investors this year.

Here's what the available data shows about each company heading into the second half of 2026.

Two very different business models

Microsoft and Apple compete in some overlapping areas, but their core businesses pull in different directions. Microsoft generates the bulk of its revenue from cloud computing, productivity software and enterprise solutions, with its Azure platform and Office 365 suite forming the backbone of its model. Apple, by contrast, remains primarily focused on putting devices into customers' hands, with the iPhone still serving as its single largest revenue driver even as services revenue continues to grow.

That divergence shows up clearly in recent growth rates. Microsoft's trailing 12-month revenue has increased roughly 44% over the past three years, with total cloud revenue growing 26% year-over-year in a recent quarter to $51 billion, and Azure revenue alone climbing 39%. Apple's trailing 12-month revenue, by comparison, grew about 13% over the same three-year stretch, with iPhone revenue increasing just 6% year-over-year in its most recent quarterly report — still its largest single revenue source, but growing far more slowly than Microsoft's cloud business.

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