US: Nvidia Corp. has briefly touched a market value of $3.92 trillion on Thursday, edging past Apple Inc.’s record and momentarily becoming the world’s most valuable company.
Shares of the AI chipmaker rose as much as 2.4 percent to $160.98, pushing Nvidia’s market capitalization above Apple’s previous high of $3.915 trillion set in December 2024.
The stock later eased slightly but still left Nvidia’s valuation at $3.89 trillion just shy of Apple’s record. The surge highlights Nvidia’s role in the booming AI industry, with its latest chips powering the most advanced artificial intelligence models.
The company, which began by designing graphics chips for video games, has evolved into the backbone of global AI infrastructure.
Microsoft Corp. currently holds the second spot among the world’s most valuable companies, with a market value of $3.7 trillion, followed by Apple at $3.19 trillion.
A fierce race among tech giants, including Microsoft, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Tesla, to build AI capabilities and data centers has driven unprecedented demand for Nvidia’s processors.
Nvidia’s rise has been staggering: its market value has surged from $500 billion in 2021 to nearly $4 trillion, surpassing the combined market capitalization of Canada and Mexico and even exceeding the total value of all listed companies in the UK.
Despite its explosive growth, Nvidia trades at about 32 times analysts’ expected earnings over the next year, lower than its five-year average of 41, reflecting robust earnings forecasts that have outpaced its stock gains.
The stock has rebounded more than 68 percent since its April 4 low, when markets were rattled by President Donald Trump’s global tariff announcements. Optimism around potential trade deals has since helped lift Wall Street.
Nvidia now accounts for 7 percent of the S&P 500 (SPX), while together with Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, these tech giants make up 28 percent of the index, leaving retirement savers heavily exposed to the future of AI.
Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Nvidia recently replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, symbolizing the tech sector’s shift toward AI-driven growth.
