The Motley Fool·2025-12-07 10:00Core Viewpoint - Apple's high valuation metrics are currently supporting its market valuation, but it is expected that other companies will surpass Apple in market cap in the coming years due to its slow growth and high valuation [1]. Group 1: Competitors to Apple - Alphabet is approximately $300 billion behind Apple and generates more net income, indicating it could be valued higher if given the same stock price valuation. Its revenue and operating income growth rates are nearly double those of Apple, positioning it well to surpass Apple in market cap within three years [4][6]. - Microsoft, with a market cap of about $3.6 trillion, is also a strong contender to surpass Apple. Its net income is close to Apple's, and its growth rates, driven by a thriving software business and a strong cloud computing platform, suggest it will likely pass Apple in market cap soon [9]. - Amazon, currently valued at about $2.5 trillion, faces a tougher challenge as it is $1.7 trillion smaller than Apple. However, its cloud computing business, AWS, is experiencing significant growth, and its advertising business is also expanding rapidly, which could help it close the gap with Apple [10][11][13]. Group 2: Growth Prospects - Alphabet's advertising platform is performing well, and its challenge to Nvidia's dominance in the AI computing market could further enhance its growth prospects [7]. - Microsoft benefits from strong demand for AI, which is expected to continue driving growth in its cloud computing services [9]. - Amazon's AWS saw a 20% year-over-year revenue increase, and its advertising business grew by 24% in Q3, indicating strong potential for profitability and growth [11][13].