AI chipmaker Nvidia overtakes Apple as value surpasses three trillion dollars

The firm’s surge in market value to leapfrog Apple marks another milestone in the technology sector, with Apple previously having dominated since it launched its iPhone in 2007.

Apple lost its crown as the world’s most valuable publicly listed company to Microsoft earlier this year amid worries over iPhone demand and Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI as it took an early lead in generative AI.

Nvidia has now joined Microsoft and Apple as the only US stocks ever to top three trillion dollars in total value.

After share rises across the sector overnight, Microsoft is worth £2.46 trillion, with Nvidia at £2.35 trillion and Apple at £2.34 trillion.

Nvidia’s chips are powering much of the rush into AI, which has seen it become a poster child of the AI boom, with demand for its processors from the likes of Google, Microsoft and Facebook owner Meta outstripping supply.

Nvidia’s shares – up nearly 150 per cent now so far this year – are also being boosted by an upcoming move to split its stock by 10-to-one on Friday.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “Investors continue to seek new ways to play the red-hot AI theme and week after week they are finding more companies that are reaping the benefits of this modern tech revolution.

"Nvidia shares hit a new record high, just shy of $1,200, and took the Nasdaq index along for the ride.”

Mr Coatsworth said that Friday “is a big day for Nvidia as those holding stock at the market close will qualify for nine additional shares in the chip group for each share already owned”.

He added: “Nvidia is undertaking a stock split to bring its share price down and make it more affordable to investors who cannot afford to splash out more than a grand per share, as well as to benefit employees who use some of their monthly pay packet to invest in the company.”

Nvidia’s all-time stock market highs came amid a wider rally on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 finishing the session 1.2 per cent higher to top its all-time high set two weeks ago and the Nasdaq composite jumping even more, 2 per cent, and likewise setting a record.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, lagged the market with a gain of 96 points, or 0.3 per cent.

Some bigger-than-expected profit reports from tech companies helped drive the market.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 10.7 per cent after saying strong sales related to AI systems helped it deliver better results than expected, while it also raised its financial forecasts for the year.

Companies have so far been meeting Wall Street’s hopes for how much money the new tech will generate, which has helped to send stocks soaring, apparently without regard to the broader US economic backdrop and what interest rates are doing.