Apple briefly overtook Nvidia as the world's most valuable company on Friday, July 17. In early trading, Apple reached $4.92 trillion, while Nvidia stood at $4.86 trillion. However, Nvidia later reclaimed the top spot, ending regular trading with a market cap of $5.02 trillion, compared to Apple's $4.89 trillion, leaving a narrow $130 billion gap between the two tech giants. Apple's stock climbed 1.76% to a record $333.26, while Nvidia dropped 2.40% to $207.40.
Driving Apple's performance are factors like eight consecutive EPS beats, a new $100 billion share buyback program, and a $30 billion deal with Broadcom to advance its silicon roadmap. Analysts are closely watching Apple's Services growth, particularly its all-time high of $30.98 billion last quarter, and revenue from Greater China, which surged to $25.53 billion. There are also high expectations for the iPhone 18, with Polymarket traders pricing 96% odds of its launch this year.
The race for market leadership is further intensified by upcoming earnings reports. Apple is scheduled to release its earnings on July 30, which could significantly influence its position. Nvidia will report later, on August 26, leaving a month-long window for Apple to potentially solidify its lead. While Nvidia's fundamentals remain strong, with its Blackwell 300 platform ramping up, recent profit-taking has seen its stock drop nearly 4% over the past month, contrasting with Apple's more than 7% gain in the past week.
