TL;DR
Apple ($4.88 trillion) overtook Nvidia ($4.86 trillion) as the world’s most valuable company for the first time since April 2025. Nvidia fell 3.5%. AI trading is expanding.
Apple overtook Nvidia on Friday to become the world’s most valuable company for the first time since April 2025. Apple closed at about $4.88 trillion as its shares held steady, 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 change reflects that investors are broadening their focus on AI beyond the most obvious beneficiaries. “Apple was seen as a laggard in the AI race because it wasn’t spending on developing models, but now sentiment has changed.“said Toni Meadows of BRI Wealth Management. Apple released its much-delayed overhaul of Siri last month, and CEO Tim Cook is preparing to hand over the role to hardware veteran John Ternus in September. Apple recorded its best quarter in its history by not building an AI model, demonstrating that the strategy of integrating others’ models rather than training your own can work commercially.
The semiconductor index has fallen nearly 19% from its all-time highs as investors reassess the sustainability of AI trading. The biggest winners this year have been memory chip makers: Micron surpassed $1 trillion in May and SK Hynix listed on the Nasdaq earlier this month. “New entrants to the market could divert attention from the pure Magnificent Seven names to a broader number of names.”said Benjamin Hall of Segal Marco Advisors.
Reorganization does not necessarily indicate lasting change. Nvidia’s GPUs still power the majority of AI infrastructure and the company could reclaim the top spot if sentiment changes. Memory makers like Micron are signing multi-year AI supply deals which position them as long-term beneficiaries alongside Nvidia rather than replacements. Apple’s position is also delicate: The company has raised prices to offset the costs of memory shortages and tariffs, a strategy that could hurt demand if consumers pull back.
