Apple briefly reclaims world's most valuable company crown from Nvidia

Apple briefly overtook Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company on Friday, with a market capitalization of about $4.88 trillion, marking the first time since April 2025 it has held the top spot. Source: FoxBusiness; CNA

Why the shift

Investors are broadening their AI focus beyond obvious beneficiaries like Nvidia. "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 of BRI Wealth Management. Source: TheNextWeb; AlJazeera Apple's lower AI capital expenditure is now seen as an advantage, as it is less exposed to costly AI buildout and better positioned to monetize AI through services and hardware upgrades. Source: FoxBusiness

Apple recently rolled out a long-delayed overhaul of Siri, aiming to close the gap with rivals. Source: Gizmodo Meanwhile, CEO Tim Cook is preparing to hand over to hardware veteran John Ternus in September. Source: CNA

• Nvidia fell 3.5% on the day, while Apple shares rose slightly. Source: FoxBusiness; TheNextWeb
• Memory chipmakers like Micron (crossed $1 trillion in May) and SK Hynix (listed on Nasdaq) are emerging as new AI beneficiaries. Source: AlJazeera
• The broader tech sector declined: Nasdaq down 1.6%, S&P 500 down 0.9%. Source: AlJazeera

What's ahead

Analysts caution that Nvidia remains dominant in AI infrastructure, and its position could rebound. Source: TheNextWeb Apple's upcoming Q3 earnings on July 30 will be closely watched. Source: AlJazeera Additionally, the debut of Chinese AI model Kimi K3 from Moonshot could intensify competition and affect valuations. Source: Gizmodo