Apple has regained its status as the world's most valuable company. On Friday, Apple's stock fell 1.2%, but its market capitalization remained at $5.03 trillion; NVIDIA's stock dropped 4.2%, with its closing market cap falling to $4.93 trillion, leaving a gap of approximately $100 billion between the two. This marks the first time Apple has surpassed NVIDIA since briefly returning to the top spot in late July. Since the beginning of 2026, Apple's stock has risen by 27%, nearly triple NVIDIA's 9.7% gain over the same period.
As investors' concerns about the costs of AI infrastructure intensified, they sought safer investment options, allowing Apple to once again surpass NVIDIA as the world's most valuable company. Last Friday, Apple's market capitalization reached $5.03 trillion, while NVIDIA's stood at $4.93 trillion. Amid a broad sell-off in tech stocks, Apple's share price proved more resilient.
After a significant sell-off in AI-related stocks, Apple has reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable company, surpassing NVIDIA. Although Apple's stock fell 1.2% on Friday, its market capitalization still reached $5.03 trillion. NVIDIA's stock dropped 4.2%, closing at a market cap of $4.93 trillion, as growing concerns over the return on investment for large-scale AI infrastructure put pressure on tech companies.
This is the first time Apple has surpassed the chipmaker since briefly reclaiming the top spot in late July. Apple's stock is up 27% in 2026, nearly triple NVIDIA's 9.7% gain for the year so far.
This shift comes as investors grow increasingly concerned that the massive investments in AI data centers may not deliver the expected returns for businesses. Following Alphabet and Meta, the latest earnings reports from several major tech companies, including Intel and Amazon, have disappointed investors.
Apple has largely avoided excessive spending, keeping its capital expenditures low compared to major AI infrastructure providers. This has made it the best-performing company among the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants this year.
Apple has maintained relatively low capital expenditures and is projected to see its free cash flow grow by 38% to $142 billion in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026. In contrast, as AI-related investments increase, the free cash flows of Alphabet and Amazon have turned negative, forcing them to rely more heavily on debt financing.
The Nasdaq-100 Index fell 6.7% in October, marking its worst monthly performance since March 2025. AI infrastructure companies were hit particularly hard: CoreWeave and Nebius both saw their stock prices drop more than 30% for the month, while Intel's stock plummeted over 45%, recording its largest single-month decline in more than 40 years.