Nvidia Loses Coveted Title; Stock Declines Worldwide
Declines in the chip sector are shaking markets: Nvidia fell 5% yesterday, losing the title of the world's most valuable company to Apple. With stock declines in Asia and a volatile week ahead on Wall Street, investors are bracing for tech earnings and Fed decisions.
Apple surpassed Nvidia yesterday and reclaimed the title of the world's most valuable company.
This shift occurred after Nvidia plunged 5%, closing with a market capitalization of $4.77 trillion. The decline follows a broader retreat in AI chip stocks amid concerns over the high costs associated with developing AI infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Apple rose 1%, bringing its market cap to $4.95 trillion.
Nvidia had held the title of the most valuable company since June 2025, when it took the crown from Microsoft, and even briefly reached a market cap of $5 trillion in October.
Since the beginning of 2026, Nvidia's stock has risen only 4%, while Apple has surged 24%. Apple has outperformed the market, as investors rewarded its reluctance to engage in heavy capital expenditures on AI infrastructure, preferring to lease capacity instead of building it internally.
Apple will report its third-quarter financial results on Thursday. The iPhone maker is expected to reveal for the first time some of the financial impacts of the global memory chip shortage—driven by the AI revolution—which forced the company to raise prices for Mac and iPad in June.
The decline in Nvidia's stock was attributed, among other things, to reports that it may provide guarantees of up to $250 billion for an OpenAI project, allowing it to lease computing power from data centers in the USA. Investors fear that Nvidia, beyond being the central chip supplier for the AI revolution, is starting to take on direct financial exposure to its customers' projects. Instead of just selling chips, the company may be helping to finance the infrastructure that will create future demand for its products.
Market Uncertainty
Wall Street closed with a mixed trend yesterday after a volatile day. Negative sentiment in the chip sector weighed on leading indices: the Nasdaq ended down about 0.2%, the S&P 500 closed unchanged, and the Dow Jones added about 0.5%.
Futures on Wall Street are trading slightly lower this morning, and the negative trend in chips is pulling down Asian markets. SK stock is diving in Seoul by over 10%, and Samsung Electronics is falling by over 8%. Accordingly, South Korea's KOSPI is plunging 8% and the Japanese Nikkei is losing 4%.
Market tension reflects uncertainty ahead of a critical week, with financial reports from Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft scheduled for release. "We are going to hear from all the cloud giants this week that they are going to increase capital expenditures even more, so these stocks may be under pressure," said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist at Hightower, on CNBC's "Closing Bell."
Investors are also eyeing the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision expected on Wednesday. The market expects the central bank to leave rates unchanged but will look for clarity regarding the path of monetary policy. Fed interest rate futures have recently priced in a quarter-percent hike in September.
Investors will continue to monitor oil prices and the bond market. Brent crude oil futures are currently trading below $90 a barrel, against the backdrop of a lull in fighting between the USA and Iran. The yield on the 10-year US government bond has retreated to the 4.65% area.
