Apple dethrones Nvidia again: how a single Friday rewrote the $4.9 trillion crown

Apple Inc has taken back the title of the world’s most valuable company, overtaking Nvidia after the chipmaker’s shares dropped sharply on Friday, according to a Bloomberg report. Nvidia’s stock fell 3.7%, pulling its market value down to about $4.8 trillion, while Apple gained 0.4% to push its own valuation to roughly $4.9 trillion.

It is the first time Apple has held the top spot since Nvidia overtook it back in May 2025. Bloomberg’s report points to a broader shift among investors, who are pulling money out of companies that rode the artificial intelligence boom hardest and moving it toward businesses seen as better placed for steady, long-term growth. Apple has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of that rotation.

The numbers back that up. Apple’s shares have surged 21% since hitting a low in June and are now up 23% for the year, making it the best-performing stock among the ‘Magnificent Seven’ technology giants. For comparison, the Nasdaq 100 Index gained 12% over the same period, while the S&P 500 Index rose 8.6%.

Apple’s rally has also been helped along by long-awaited government approval to launch Apple Intelligence in China, a development expected to strengthen the company’s growth outlook in one of its most important markets. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s shares came under pressure after reports surfaced that a new AI model from Chinese startup Moonshot rivals leading models from OpenAI and Anthropic — both of which depend on Nvidia’s chips. That news has stoked fresh investor worry that spending on AI infrastructure could be nearing its peak.

Adding to the momentum, HSBC upgraded Apple’s stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’, with analyst Nicolas Cote-Colisson writing that the company ‘is now at an operational turning point.’ He added that Apple can ‘stay away from the (too) high capex debate’ while being ‘well placed to leverage its 2.5bn installed device base with its forthcoming revamped Apple Intelligence.’

Apple Park/CC-BY-SA 3.0/by Arne Müseler