Apple Overtakes NVIDIA and Crosses the 5 Trillion Dollar Mark
On Tuesday, Apple reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable company, surpassing NVIDIA. During trading, Apple's market capitalization briefly exceeded the 5 trillion dollar threshold.
Good morning.
If you had read the forecasts over the past year, you would have been certain that Apple had been left behind in the AI race while its competitors were burning billions, which should have been reflected in its stock price as well. But yesterday, the stock market reminded everyone that sometimes it is the one who sits on the sidelines and watches the other children play who ends the day on top.
The second company in history
Yesterday (Tuesday), Apple overtook NVIDIA and reclaimed the lead as the company with the highest market value in the world, about two years after losing the title. Over the past week, NVIDIA's stock completed a drop of about 4.4%, while Apple nipped at its heels with a rise of 3.69%. This shift in momentum allowed Apple to overtake NVIDIA and hold the championship belt again, but later in the evening, Apple reached, if only for a few moments, another achievement.
During the trading day, Apple's stock climbed and its market value crossed the 5 trillion dollar mark. In doing so, Apple joined a very exclusive club. How exclusive? The only company that did it before it is NVIDIA. Jensen Huang's chip giant was the first to cross this threshold last October, a day after Apple reached the 4 trillion dollar line.
Did the strategy pay off?
Of course, as in previous times, the crossing of the 5 trillion mark was momentary, and Apple closed the trading day with a market value of 4.99 trillion dollars. However, one cannot ignore what this move represents: the momentum this year belongs to Apple, whose stock has jumped by more than 25% since the beginning of the year, compared to a rise of only 4.32% for NVIDIA. Apple benefited from strong sales of its products and was not required to burn huge sums in the AI race compared to its competitors, while NVIDIA remained exposed to fluctuations in the supply chain and shocks in the AI market. We have already seen in the past how the launch of open AI models can hit its stock overnight, and how investors sometimes prefer to shift investments to other parts of the chain, partly against the backdrop of the RAM crisis.
Apple's position at the top may turn out to be only temporary, but it reflects the spirit of the times well and reminds us again: every time people are quick to eulogize Apple, they discover that it is stronger than ever. Perhaps at the end of the AI war, when the dust settles, we will discover that the one who preferred to sit on the sidelines and let the other children play so as not to waste energy — even if it happened by mistake — is the one who will come out on top. However, very soon the situation may change: Tim Cook is expected to vacate the CEO chair in favor of John Ternus, and a new CEO brings with him, as is known, new decisions.
