Okay, so maybe "breezes" isn't the best choice of words, given how long and hard the road to success proved for Apple. But Apple has finally gotten a leg up on Microsoft - at least on Wall Street.

The Standard & Poor's index services unit says Apple, with a market cap of $241.5 billion, is now ahead of Microsoft's $239.5 billion market capitalization. As a result, Apple now lags behind only Exxon Mobil (and its market cap of just north of $300 billion). If investors continue to react as positively toward Apple as they have on the heels of recent mind-blowing earnings, it may not be long before Apple sits pretty atop all of the S&P 500.

Apple was able to bump Microsoft on Thursday as a result of the company reporting a quarterly profit of $3.07 billion - or $3.33 a share - on $13.5 billion in revenue. A stunning success by all accounts, the stock surge enjoyed by Apple has promoted some - like CNN Money's editor at large, Paul R. La Monica - to suggest that Apple should finally be listed on the Dow because its no longer just a "plucky tech underdog."

While Apple is no stranger to rolling out devices that quicken the pace and expediency of our lives, perhaps Apple's addition to the Dow could "juice" the overall performance of the stock market and continue to help spur the economy back from the brink of economic disaster?