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Apple dethrones Nvidia to regain title of world’s most valuable company
Apple overtook Nvidia on Friday to reclaim the title of world's most valuable company, marking a notable shift in investor sentiment towards artificial intelligence stocks. Nvidia had held the top spot for nearly a year after becoming the first company to pass a $5tn valuation in October, but its shares fell 3.5% while Apple's held steady, allowing Apple to move ahead for the first time since April last year. Analysts say the change reflects a broadening of investor focus beyond obvious AI beneficiaries like Nvidia, with sentiment towards Apple improving following last month's overhaul of Siri.
Apple was last valued at $4.88tn against Nvidia's roughly $4.86tn. The reshuffle comes as Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, prepares to hand over to hardware veteran John Ternus in September, and as the company navigates price rises intended to offset costs. Analysts noted Nvidia remains a major AI beneficiary and could reclaim top spot, while enthusiasm has also spread to memory chipmakers such as Micron and SK Hynix, even as the wider semiconductor sector fell almost 19% from its peak amid a July reassessment of the AI trade.
In short
- Apple overtakes Nvidia as world's most valuable company
- Shift reflects investor reassessment of the AI boom
- Apple valued at $4.88tn versus Nvidia's $4.86tn
Explained simply
Market capitalisation refers to the total value that investors assign to a company at any moment, calculated by multiplying the current share price by the number of shares outstanding. The "world's most valuable company" title goes to whichever publicly listed company has the highest market capitalisation, and this position can change daily as share prices move. At present, Apple and Nvidia are the two most valuable companies, each worth roughly $4.8 trillion.
Nvidia is a chipmaker that manufactures the semiconductors and processors that power artificial intelligence systems. As artificial intelligence has emerged as a major area of technology development and investment, demand for Nvidia's products has surged. Apple is the company most people know for making iPhones, MacBooks, iPads and other consumer electronics products.
The positions of the world's most valuable companies shift as different industries and technologies come into focus for investors. When investors become more optimistic about a particular sector, they tend to buy shares in the companies seen as industry leaders, raising those companies' valuations. Apple and Nvidia currently represent two different pillars of the technology industry.
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