Financial Times: Google's Stock Market Value Passes Microsoft's

To the checklist of signs that the technology industry has entered a "post-PC" era, add this: Google's stock market value passed that of Microsoft's for the first time on Monday.
Soon after the close of trading, Google's market capitalization was $248.8 billion, ahead of Microsoft's $246.9 billion. The switch means Google is now the second-most valuable technology company behind Apple, which has a market capitalization of $623 billion.
The milestone is a sign that investors are collectively becoming more bullish on the growth opportunities ahead for Google, a company whose fortunes are predicated on the Internet and, increasingly, on mobile devices and services.
Microsoft, meanwhile, has not been able to shake the view that it is still largely a PC software company -- a highly profitable one, but in a market that is not growing the way it once was. While Microsoft has invested heavily in the Internet and mobile, its bets there have yet to pay off in a big way. The company is still heavily dependent on its venerable Office and Windows franchises for much of its profit.
Steven P. Jobs, Apple's late chief executive, two years ago began promoting the idea that the rise of the iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices heralded the arrival of a post-PC era. That argument gained credence with investors, helping to send Apple's market value above Microsoft's for the first time in 2010.
Tony Imperati, a spokesman for Microsoft, declined to comment, as did Niki Fenwick, a spokeswoman for Google.