NVIDIA "Reclaims First Place"
According to LSEG data, NVIDIA's market value once reached $3.53 trillion, slightly higher than Apple's $3.52 trillion. By the end of the trading day, the market value slightly dropped to $3.47 trillion, lower than Apple. So far this year, NVIDIA's stock price has surged by nearly 190%
Overnight, NVIDIA briefly regained the top spot in market capitalization.
Thanks to strong demand for specialized AI chips, on Friday, NVIDIA's stock price hit a historic high, surpassing Apple to become the world's most valuable company at one point. Data from LSEG shows that NVIDIA's market cap briefly reached $3.53 trillion, slightly higher than Apple's $3.52 trillion. However, NVIDIA's market cap slightly fell to $3.47 trillion at the close, up 0.8%, while Apple's stock price rose 0.4%, with a market cap of $3.52 trillion, surpassing NVIDIA again.
In fact, as early as June this year, NVIDIA had briefly taken the global number one spot, only to be surpassed shortly after by Microsoft and Apple. The market caps of these three tech giants have been neck and neck for several months, accounting for about one-fifth of the S&P 500 index's weight combined.
So far this year, NVIDIA's stock price has surged by nearly 190%. In October, NVIDIA rose by about 18%, especially after OpenAI announced a $6.6 billion financing, its momentum became even more rapid. On Friday, data storage manufacturer Western Digital reported quarterly profits that exceeded analysts' expectations, further boosting optimism about data center demand, leading to a wave of increases in NVIDIA and other semiconductor stocks.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said:
"As more and more companies adopt AI in their daily work, the demand for NVIDIA chips remains strong. As long as the U.S. avoids a major economic downturn, people will expect companies to continue investing heavily in AI capabilities, providing strong growth momentum for NVIDIA."
Meanwhile, Apple is facing weak demand for smartphones, with analysts expecting its revenue to grow by 5.55% year-on-year to $94.5 billion in the upcoming quarter. In contrast, analysts expect NVIDIA's revenue to grow by nearly 82% to $32.9 billion.
Furthermore, NVIDIA's soaring stock price has increased the attractiveness of the stock to options traders. According to data from options analytics provider Trade Alert, NVIDIA's options have been among the most traded options in recent months.
Rick Meckler, partner at family investment office Cherry Lane Investments, said:
"I think NVIDIA itself knows that their performance could be very impressive in the short term."