Apple briefly overtook Nvidia as the world's most valuable company in early trading on Friday, with Apple reaching a market capitalization of $4.92 trillion compared to Nvidia's $4.86 trillion. While Nvidia later reclaimed the top spot, ending regular trading at $5.02 trillion against Apple's $4.89 trillion, the gap between the two tech giants has narrowed significantly to approximately $130 billion. Apple's stock (AAPL) climbed 1.76% to a record $333.26, while Nvidia (NVDA) fell 2.40% to $207.40, reflecting a shift in investor sentiment.
This shift is partly due to a rotation of investor capital away from AI-linked chip stocks, which saw $9.3 billion in technology fund outflows during the last week of June. Apple has added nearly $600 billion in market value since late June, with its shares rallying from $275.15 on June 25 to $315.32. This resurgence for Apple is supported by "extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17 lineup," a Services unit that generated a record $30.98 billion last quarter, and a fresh $100 billion share buyback program. Additionally, Apple's $30 billion chip supply deal with Broadcom and strong Q2 revenue of $111.2 billion, up 17% year-over-year, have contributed to its momentum.
Nvidia, despite briefly losing its lead, maintains hypergrowth, with its latest quarterly revenue hitting $81.6 billion, an 85.2% year-over-year increase. Data center networking alone grew 199%. However, investors are taking profits after Nvidia's historic run, compressing its stock even as its business accelerates. Apple's upcoming earnings report on July 30 is seen as a crucial catalyst, with analysts watching for Services growth, Greater China revenue (which surged to $25.53 billion last quarter), and any signals regarding the iPhone 18 launch. Nvidia's next report is not until August 26, giving Apple a month to control the narrative.
