Apple temporarily overtakes Nvidia as world's most valuable firm

Apple surpassed Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company on July 17, 2026, with a market capitalization of around $4.9 trillion, compared to Nvidia's $4.8 trillion. However, the lead was short-lived as Nvidia recovered later in the session, ending nearly tied. Source: portafolioco, larepublicaco

What happened

• Apple's stock rose 0.4% on the day, while Nvidia fell 3.7%, driven by a broad tech sell-off and profit-taking in AI-related stocks. Source: larepublicaco
• Nvidia's decline accelerated after reports that Chinese startup Moonshot developed an AI model rivaling those of OpenAI and Anthropic, raising doubts about sustained AI infrastructure spending. Source: lavanguardia, elmundoes
• Apple's shares have gained 21% from their June low and are up 23% year-to-date, the best performance among the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants. Source: lavanguardia

Why the shift

• Investors rotated from chipmakers to companies with strong consumer ecosystems, benefiting Apple. HSBC upgraded Apple from "Hold" to "Buy", citing its installed base of 2.5 billion devices and upcoming Apple Intelligence rollout. Source: larepublicaco