Microsoft surpassed Apple on Thursday to become the world's most valuable company, following Apple's weak start to 2024 due to growing concerns over demand.

Microsoft's shares rose by 1.6%, bringing its market capitalization to $2.875 trillion.

Investors have turned to Microsoft, which holds a lead in the artificial intelligence race, according to Reuters.

Apple's market capitalization was at $2.871 trillion on Thursday. This marked the first time since 2021 that its valuation fell below that of Microsoft.

Since the beginning of the year, Apple's stock has declined by 3.3% compared to Microsoft's rise of 1.8%. Apple's stock weakness follows concerns that sales of the iPhone, its most profitable product, will remain weak, especially in the large Chinese market. Apple's shares, which had a market capitalization of $3.081 trillion on December 14, closed last year with a 48% gain. In contrast, Microsoft's shares ended the year with a 57% increase.

Microsoft briefly took the lead over Apple as the most valuable company in 2018 and again more recently in 2021.