When Apple (AAPL) reported quarterly revenue of $15.7 billion on Tuesday, there was a lot of speculation that this would be the quarter that it finally overtook its long-time rival.

    But it was not to be -- at least not yet. Microsoft (MSFT) reported its fourth quarter earnings after the markets closed on Thursday and it easily topped the Street's expectations.

    Bottom line: earnings of $0.51 on record sales of $16.04 billion, up 22% year over year.

    But Steve Ballmer's lead over Steve Jobs's lead may not last long. For the quarter that ends in September, Apple is forecasting sales of $18 billion.

    Meanwhile, Apple's market capitalization, which overtook Microsoft's in May, continues to outpace Redmond's. The total value of its shares now stands at $235.7 billion, compared with Microsoft's $226.46 billion.