Apple once again became the company with the highest market value in the world by surpassing Nvidia, driven by the solid performance of its shares, the growth of its services business and a more moderate strategy in artificial intelligence (AI).
During Tuesday's trading, the technology company even momentarily surpassed the barrier of $5 billion in market capitalization, a new milestone for the company.
Apple once again leads Wall Street
The company headed by Tim Cook reached an all-time high of $342.89 per share, which raised its market value to $5.036 billion. It later moderated part of the gains, although it closed with a capitalization close to $4.99 billion dollars, enough to regain first place in the world ranking.
Since the beginning of 2026, the iPhone manufacturer's shares have accumulated an increase of close to 25%, driven by the growth of its service income, the strong global demand for its devices and the confidence of investors in a more disciplined investment strategy.
Nvidia loses leadership after a sharp fall in the stock market
Apple's rise coincided with a difficult day for Nvidia, whose shares fell nearly 5%, to $196.51 per share. As a result, its market capitalization fell to approximately $4.78 billion.
The decline also dragged down the semiconductor sector, due to market concerns about high spending on infrastructure for artificial intelligence and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers.
Despite the correction, the company led by Jensen Huang still maintains a positive performance in 2026, with a profit close to 5.4% for the year.
The market rewards Apple's strategy
For analysts, the change in leadership reflects investors' new reading of Apple's business. While several technology companies allocate billions of dollars to the development of infrastructure for AI, the Cupertino company has opted for a more conservative strategy, focused on controlling costs and strengthening highly profitable areas, such as its services division.
Jacobo Rodríguez, analyst at ROA Capital, pointed out that the markets continue to punish companies that make heavy investments in artificial intelligence.
The specialist explained that Nvidia's fall was related to reports about a possible investment in OpenAI to develop a data center, in addition to new strategic agreements with SK Group, factors that increased pressure on the chip manufacturer.
Rodríguez added that Nvidia has accumulated a drop of close to 16% since the maximum reached in May, which caused it to lose its stock market leadership against Apple.
Apple demonstrates greater resilience
For his part, Alik García, deputy director of Stock Market Analysis at Valmex Casa de Bolsa, stated that Apple has shown a greater ability to resist the volatility of the technology sector.
The analyst highlighted that the company has maintained stable demand for its premium devices, gained share in the smartphone market and retains significant pricing power, which has allowed it to offset the increase in component costs without significantly affecting its margins.
However, he warned that, although Apple regained first place by market capitalization, semiconductor manufacturers will continue to be protagonists of growth driven by artificial intelligence.
From the AI boom to the return of Apple
Nvidia became the most valuable company in the world in June 2024, when it displaced Microsoft thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence and high demand for its data center processors.
The company was also the first to surpass a $4 billion valuation and, months later, surpassed $5 billion, driven by the growth of the AI market.
Apple, which for years led the world ranking and was the first company to reach a capitalization of $3 trillion, now regains first place thanks to the solid performance of its business and the renewed confidence of investors.
The most valuable companies in the world
With the change in positions, Apple leads the global list with a capitalization close to $5 billion, followed by Nvidia, with around $4.78 billion.
The rest of the ranking is made up of Alphabet, with approximately $3.99 billion dollars; Microsoft, with $2.89 billion; Amazon, with $2.49 billion; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), with $2.07 billion; Broadcom, with $1.82 billion; Saudi Aramco, with $1.71 billion; Meta Platforms, with $1.51 billion; SpaceX, with $1.50 billion; and Tesla, with a capitalization close to $1.22 billion dollars.
