Apple Overtakes Nvidia to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company

 Apple Overtakes Nvidia to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company

Tech giant Apple Inc. has reclaimed its position as the world’s most valuable company, surpassing Nvidia Corporation. Amid growing concerns regarding spending on artificial intelligence (AI), investors have gravitated toward the iPhone maker, which is perceived as a safer bet.

Although Apple’s share price fell by 1.2% on Friday, its market capitalization remained at $5.03 trillion. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s shares dropped by 4.2%, bringing its valuation down to $4.93 trillion. This marks the first time Apple has overtaken Nvidia since a brief period late last July.

The decline in the stock market on Friday followed disappointing financial results from major tech companies, including Intel Corporation and Amazon.com Inc. Previously, other firms such as Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. had also reported similarly underwhelming figures.

These reports have reignited concerns regarding the returns on the massive investments being poured into AI infrastructure—an area in which Apple has largely remained uninvolved.

While fears persist that heavy investments in AI computing infrastructure may fail to yield the expected returns, Apple—which has kept its capital expenditure in check—has emerged as the best-performing company among the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants this year. In 2026, Apple's shares rose by 27 percent—more than double the growth seen by Nvidia, which ranks second and is considered a primary beneficiary of AI-related spending.

Corporate spending on AI infrastructure has surged to such an extent that the free cash flow of companies like Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. has turned negative, forcing them to rely on debt markets to secure financial resources. Meanwhile, rising interest rates have also driven up the cost of borrowing.

In contrast, Apple’s free cash flow for the 2026 fiscal year—which ended on September 30—is projected to have grown by 38 percent, reaching $142 billion.

In October, the Nasdaq 100 index, which is dominated by the technology sector, fell by 6.7 percent—marking its worst monthly performance since March 2025.

Shares of data center operators that provide AI computing services—such as CoreWeave Inc. and Nebius Group—dropped by more than 30 percent this month. Following a decline on Friday, Intel’s shares fell by over 45 percent for the month of October as a whole.

According to data tracked by Bloomberg for over 40 years, this represents the largest monthly decline for the company on record.