This is largely an artifact of survivorship bias. If you compare MS to it's peers: GE: $372B -> $239B MS: $326B -> $239B Exxon: $299B -> $403B Wal-Mart: $2

This is largely an artifact of survivorship bias. If you compare MS to it's peers: GE: $372B -> $239B MS: $326B -> $239B Exxon: $299B -> $403B Wal-Mart: $273B -> $247B Citigroup: $255B -> $134B Pfizer: $249B -> $207B Intel: $203B -> $108B BP: $200B -> $130B Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_corporations_by_market_capitalization#2002 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_corporations_by_market_... http://www.ft.com/intl/indepth/ft500 http://www.ft.com/intl/indepth/ft500