Amazon poised to surpass Microsoft in value for first-time ever

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is on pace to surpass Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in market capitalization for the first time.

Amazon’s worth hit $710 billion Friday afternoon, just above Microsoft’s $708 billion market cap. This would make Amazon the third-largest U.S. company by market cap, dropping Microsoft into fourth place.

Amazon’s rise in market value came Friday as shares were climbing in the aftermath of the company’s big earnings beat.

The e-commerce giant clearly benefited from the record holiday shopping season, with the company earning $3.75 a share compared to the $1.54 a share it earned during the same period a year ago. The results included a one-time benefit of $789 million from tax-reform legislation.

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Revenue rose to $60.45 billion from $43.74 billion, and CEO Jeff Bezos acknowledged that the company was able to “far exceed” its “very optimistic” 2017 projection.

Microsoft reported results on Wednesday. They also surpassed expectations.