Microsoft and Apple are neck and neck to be No. 1 in market value just ahead of the iPhone maker's earnings report

• Microsoft is just $25 billion shy of overtaking Apple as the most valuable company in the world.
• The cloud provider soared 5% to record highs on Wednesday following a better-than-expected earnings report.
• Apple reports its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings Thursday after the close.

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Microsoft is just $25 billion shy of overtaking Apple as the most valuable company in the world following a 5% jump to new record highs on Wednesday.

Catching up to Apple would not necessitate a big move in shares of the cloud provider, considering the company is currently worth nearly $2.5 trillion. An additional 1% rally in Microsoft stock, or a similar decline in Apple stock would mark the potential milestone.

The move comes after Microsoft delivered record profits and revenues for investors in its fiscal first-quarter report, driven by strength in its Azure cloud unit and Office 365 productivity business.

Microsoft hasn't been more valuable than Apple since May of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and stock market volatility. At the time, shares of the Redmond-based company suffered a slightly smaller decline than Apple did. Since then, Apple has held a commanding lead of several hundred billion in market value over Microsoft.

But Microsoft might not have the chance to reclaim the title as the world's most valuable company if Apple's fourth-quarter earnings report and guidance impress investors. The iPhone maker is set to report after the market close on Thursday.

Apple could see challenges due to an ongoing semiconductor shortage and other supply-chain bottlenecks, of which Microsoft is less exposed to due to its sizable software business relative to its hardware business.

Analysts expect Apple to deliver a 31% year-over-year surge in revenue to $84.9 billion, with iPhone revenues hitting $41.6 billion.