Apple briefly surpassed Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company by market capitalization during Friday's trading session.
Apple briefly became the world's most valuable company on Friday as its market capitalization rose to more than $4.91 trillion, surpassing Nvidia's $4.9 trillion. The tech giant held the top spot for the first time since April 2025, though Nvidia reclaimed the lead by the closing bell as its shares pared losses. Investors are currently evaluating whether the rapid buildout of AI tools and data centers will yield near-term profits. While Nvidia has dominated the AI race, market sentiment is shifting toward companies that can turn compute into tangible customer experiences. Analysts suggest Apple's lower capital expenditure in AI development may be an advantage, allowing it to monetize the technology through hardware upgrades and services rather than massive cloud-infrastructure spending. The surge comes as Apple prepares to release its third-quarter earnings on July 30. Meanwhile, the broader market trended downward, with the Nasdaq falling 1.6 percent and the S&P 500 dropping 0.9 percent during the same period.