CHICAGO – Nvidia became the largest company in the world on Nov 5, surpassing Apple. and underscoring just how dominant artificial intelligence (AI) has become on Wall Street.
Its shares rose 2.9 per cent to US$139.93, resulting in a market capitalisation of US$3.43 trillion (S$4.5 trillion), ahead of Apple at US$3.38 trillion. Microsoft, which Nvidia passed last month, has a market cap of US$3.06 trillion. Nvidia shares have soared more than 850 per cent since the end of 2022.
“Over the past several quarters, it has felt like people basically care about inflation numbers, job numbers, and Nvidia numbers,” said Fall Ainina, director of research at James Investment Research. “Nvidia overtaking Apple in market cap not only conveys that it is the biggest beneficiary of the AI infrastructure cycle, but it suggests people expect the AI boom will continue.”
The chipmaker accounts for 7 per cent of the weight of the S&P 500 Index and is responsible for about a quarter of the benchmark’s 21 per cent gain this year. Nvidia previously closed with the title of largest company in June, although it only held the record for a day.
The biggest companies on Wall Street are all heavily exposed to AI: Apple with its newly launched AI iPhones; Microsoft, Amazon.com and Alphabet with their cloud businesses and AI services; and Meta Platforms’ AI features and ad targeting. With the exception of Apple, these companies are all among Nvidia’s largest customers, and they have stressed their commitment to continuing to spend on AI.
Last week, Apple’s results underlined concerns about its revenue growth, along with weakness in China. Nvidia will report later this month.
Not only are the biggest companies by market cap AI plays, but so are the year’s top stock performers. Nvidia’s 183 per cent advance
