(RTTNews) – On Friday, Apple Inc. (AAPL) briefly snatched the title of the world’s most valuable company, surpassing NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA).
Apple’s market cap hit around $4.88 trillion, just ahead of Nvidia’s $4.86 trillion, after Nvidia’s stock dipped by about 3.5 percent. This shift marked Apple’s first return to the top spot since April 2025, putting an end to Nvidia’s reign as the most valuable company that started back in June 2025.
So far this year, Apple shares have jumped 22 percent, outpacing the broader market as investors reacted positively to the company’s AI efforts, its relatively low capital spending, and a robust product lineup.
Just last month, Apple rolled out a long-awaited update to Siri, aiming to better compete with its AI counterparts, and HSBC recently raised its rating on the stock, pointing to its growing AI capabilities and upcoming product releases.
Meanwhile, Nvidia, known for its crucial graphics processors in AI infrastructure, has seen a 7 percent gain this year. Investors are shifting their focus to other players benefiting from AI spending, such as memory chipmakers like Micron Technology and SK Hynix, as the spotlight expands beyond just AI accelerators.
Analysts believe Apple’s ascent indicates a rising confidence that the company can profit from AI through its range of services, hardware upgrades, and its established user base, rather than just through heavy investments in developing AI models. They also mentioned that Nvidia is still in a strong position to reclaim its top status as the demand for AI infrastructure keeps increasing.
This shift in leadership comes as Apple CEO Tim Cook gears up to pass the reins to hardware chief John Ternus in September.
