Apple overtakes Nvidia as world’s most valuable company amid AI selloff

Apple overtook Nvidia on Friday to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, as renewed selling pressure on artificial intelligence-related stocks weighed on the chipmaker.

Apple’s market capitalization reached approximately $4.9 trillion during intraday trading, narrowly surpassing Nvidia’s valuation of $4.84 trillion.

The change at the top came as Nvidia shares extended their decline amid a broader selloff in semiconductor and other companies that have been among the main beneficiaries of the AI investment boom.

Investors have grown increasingly concerned about whether the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on AI infrastructure and data centers will generate returns quickly enough to justify elevated technology-sector valuations.

Nvidia has lost roughly $1 trillion in market value since its shares peaked in mid-May, with the stock falling about 16% by early July.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was down about 11.5% for the week, despite strong earnings from major chip manufacturers, while a momentum index tracking some of the market’s biggest recent winners has fallen 13% since June.

Technology shares also faced pressure from rising geopolitical risks and energy prices, which have strengthened concerns that inflation could remain elevated and interest rates could stay higher for longer.

Apple’s comparatively resilient performance allowed the consumer technology company to regain the valuation lead, illustrating a shift in investor appetite away from some of the chipmakers most closely linked to the rapid expansion in AI spending.