Apple retakes crown from Nvidia at $4.88 trillion

Apple has overtaken Nvidia to become the world’s most valuable company for the first time since April 2025. On Friday, Apple closed at roughly $4.88 trillion, while Nvidia fell 3.5% to about $4.86 trillion.

Nvidia had held the top spot for nearly a year after becoming the first company to surpass $5 trillion in October. The reversal points to a broader shift in investor sentiment, with money moving beyond the most obvious AI beneficiaries.

“Apple was seen as a laggard in the AI race because it wasn’t spending to develop models, but now sentiment has changed.”

Apple rolled out its long-delayed Siri overhaul last month, and CEO Tim Cook is preparing to hand the role to hardware veteran John Ternus in September. The company also posted its best quarter ever without building its own AI model, instead leaning on the strategy of integrating third-party models.

The broader chip rally has cooled. The semiconductor index is down nearly 19% from its all-time highs as investors reassess how durable the AI trade really is.

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Some of this year’s standout gains have come from memory chipmakers rather than the usual megacap names:

• Micron crossed $1 trillion in May
• SK Hynix listed on the Nasdaq earlier this month

“The new entrants to the market could spread out the focus away from the pure Magnificent Seven names into a wider number of names.”

That said, the shuffle may not last. Nvidia’s GPUs still underpin most AI infrastructure, and it could quickly regain the lead if sentiment swings back. Apple’s position also looks fragile: the company has raised prices to offset costs tied to the memory shortage and tariffs, a move that could dent demand if consumers start pulling back.