Apple NASDAQ:AAPL, the iPhone maker, has reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable company after overtaking NVIDIA NASDAQ:NVDA, a chipmaker whose processors are used by major artificial intelligence developers. NVIDIA shares fell 3.7% on Friday, reducing the company's market capitalization to $4.8 trillion, while Apple's stock gained 0.4%, lifting its valuation to $4.9 trillion. The shift comes as investors rotate away from technology companies spending heavily on artificial intelligence and chipmakers that have benefited from the surge in AI infrastructure investment.
Apple shares have climbed 21% from their June low and are now up 23% in 2026, making the stock the strongest performer among the Magnificent Seven. The company has outpaced the Nasdaq 100 Index, which has gained 12% this year, and the S&P 500 Index, which has risen 8.6%. Apple also recently received long-awaited government approval to introduce Apple Intelligence in China, a development expected to provide another potential catalyst for the stock.
NVIDIA shares weakened after Moonshot, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, introduced a new model said to compete with leading offerings from OpenAI, an AI developer, and Anthropic, an AI company whose models use NVIDIA chips. The possibility that Chinese AI models could gain wider adoption has added to concerns that spending on AI infrastructure may be approaching a peak. HSBC, a global banking group, upgraded Apple from hold to buy, with analyst Nicolas Cote-Colisson arguing that the company may be reaching an operational turning point. Cote-Colisson noted that Apple can remain outside the debate over high capital spending while potentially using its installed base of 2.5 billion devices to support its forthcoming revamped Apple Intelligence offering.