[Reuters]
[Reuters]

Apple briefly overtook Nvidia to reclaim the title of the world's most valuable company during New York Stock Exchange trading Friday, as a sustained selloff in AI semiconductor stocks pushed Nvidia down the rankings.

According to Reuters, Nvidia's share price plunged 3.7 percent at the open, trimming its market cap to $4.8 trillion, while Apple rose 0.4 percent to reach a market cap of $4.9 trillion. If Apple holds the top spot, it would be the first time since April last year.

Nvidia had held the No. 1 position since May last year, driven by a surge in data center sales amid the AI boom that sent its share price sharply higher. In October last year, it became the first company in history to surpass a $5 trillion market cap.

Investors have recently begun reassessing the sustainability of the AI investment boom, fueling a broad selloff in semiconductor stocks including Nvidia. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has fallen roughly 19 percent from its all-time high.

Apple, by contrast, is being reappraised. Long criticized for falling behind in the AI race, the company is now drawing attention for avoiding massive capital outlays on AI model development and data center construction — a restraint increasingly seen as a strength.

Hyperscalers — operators of massive data centers such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta — carry heavy financial burdens from large capital expenditures each year.

"Apple was seen as behind because it wasn't spending money on AI model development, but the narrative has shifted," Tony Meadows, chief investment officer at BRI Wealth Management, told Reuters.

The intraday rankings continued to fluctuate. At one point Nvidia fell around 3 percent, pulling its market cap to $4.84 trillion while Apple hovered around $4.88 trillion, but the two companies' positions reversed again later in the session.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com