Apple has overtaken Nvidia to become the most valuable company, according to reports. Apple was last valued at $4.88 trillion as its shares held steady, while Nvidia was roughly at $4.86 trillion, following a 3.5% decline. This milestone highlights the changing outlook of investors with regard to AI.
“Apple was seen as a laggard in the AI race because it wasn’t spending to develop models, but now sentiment has changed,” said Toni Meadows, head of investment at BRI Wealth Management. “Apple is less exposed to capex intensity and better positioned to monetize AI via services, ecosystem lock-in, and hardware upgrades. The re-rating reflects confidence in earnings durability rather than speculative AI upside.”
“Market sentiment has shifted from rewarding model makers, then to semis, and now on to those companies that can turn compute into experiences and outcomes the customer will pay for, thus driving corporate earnings,” Michael Monaghan, founder of Founder ETFs, told Al Jazeera.
This would likely help Apple’s efforts to become a key player in the AI race despite being seen as “trailing.” This comes as CEO Tim Cook is preparing to cede his role to John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. Apple said Cook will continue in his role as CEO through the summer as he works closely with Ternus on a smooth transition, following which Cook would take on the role of executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
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Shares of Nvidia briefly dropped about 3% and its market value dipped to $4.84 trillion in early morning trading, while Apple hovered near a $4.88 trillion market value. Those spots later reversed.
According to a CNBC report, Apple has surged 22% this year, outperforming the market as investors reward its AI agenda and light capital spending model as businesses commit unprecedented capital to the infrastructure buildout. Meanwhile, Nvidia gained just 7% and largely sat on the sidelines as Wall Street pivoted to the memory chip and infrastructure stage of the data center buildout.
Nvidia had been the most valuable company since June 2025, when it surpassed Microsoft. In October, the company became the first to hit a historic $5 trillion market cap. In the same month, Apple crossed a $4 trillion market cap for the first time ever on the heels of strong iPhone sales.
Apple’s surge comes ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings, which are scheduled for release on July 30.