Apple vs Microsoft vs Google Since 2010: 15 Years of Big Tech
AAPL · MSFT · GOOGL · Since 2010 · $1,000 split across each
In 2010, Apple was the iPhone company, Microsoft was a post-Ballmer question mark, and Google was still mostly a search business. All three are now members of the $2 trillion-plus club, which did not exist as a concept in 2010.
15 years is long enough to smooth out most single-event volatility and long enough to show how different strategies compounded. The three paths are close enough that the chart is readable on a linear scale, which is rare for this site.
What the chart shows
Apple's return is remarkably steady
Apple had one meaningful drawdown in this window (late 2018 to early 2019, down about 35 percent) and otherwise traded in an orderly uptrend. Buybacks and services revenue kept the compounding smooth.
Microsoft's turnaround under Nadella is textbook
Microsoft was flat from 2010 to 2014 while Apple and Google pulled away. Satya Nadella took over in February 2014, and the stock has outperformed both in most trailing windows since. The cloud pivot (Azure) is usually credited, but the cultural reset matters just as much.
Google is the median, in a good way
Alphabet rarely led any single year but rarely lagged either. The chart shows it tracking close to the Apple and Microsoft paths with lower volatility. Antitrust overhang has been a persistent but not decisive headwind.
All three beat the S&P 500 handily
Add SPY as a baseline in the chart and the outperformance is roughly 4x over the full window. That is a large number, and it explains why passive indexes became more concentrated in these three names over time.
The 2022 correction hit all three roughly equally
Down 25 to 30 percent from 2021 peaks, all three recovered to new highs by mid-2023. The synchronized drawdown was a rates story more than a fundamentals story.
Frequently asked questions
Which has been the best of the three since 2010?
The ranking depends on the exact start and end date within the window. Apple led for most of the 2010s, Microsoft has led since roughly 2019, and the three are close enough that month-level start dates can flip the order.
Why 2010 as a start date?
It captures the full smartphone era (iPhone launched 2007, reached mass adoption 2010), the start of cloud computing as a meaningful business, and avoids the 2008 to 2009 crisis distortions that make shorter windows look different than they should.
What about dividends?
Apple began paying a dividend in 2012, Microsoft has paid throughout, and Alphabet started in 2024. Total returns (price plus dividends) would add roughly 10 to 20 percent to each over the full 15-year window. The ranking does not change.
How does this compare to just buying the Nasdaq?
QQQ tracked close to the average of these three through most of the window. The Magnificent 7 (which adds Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla) pulled ahead starting in 2020, and before that these three were a reasonable proxy for large-cap US tech.
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For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.