Nvidia Overtakes Apple as World’s Most Valuable Company

 A man walks past the Nvidia logo at the company's AI Summit in Mumbai, India, October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past the Nvidia logo at the company's AI Summit in Mumbai, India, October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Nvidia Overtakes Apple as World’s Most Valuable Company

 A man walks past the Nvidia logo at the company's AI Summit in Mumbai, India, October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past the Nvidia logo at the company's AI Summit in Mumbai, India, October 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Nvidia dethroned Apple as the world's most valuable company on Friday, following a record-setting rally in the stock powered by an insatiable demand for its new supercomputing AI chips.

Nvidia's stock market value briefly touched $3.53 trillion, while that of Apple was $3.52 trillion, according to data from LSEG.

In June, Nvidia briefly became the world's most valuable company, before it was overtaken by Microsoft and Apple. The tech trio's market capitalizations have been neck-and-neck for several months. Microsoft's market value stood at $3.20 trillion.

Nvidia's stock has risen about 18% so far in October, with a string of gains coming after OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced a funding round of $6.6 billion. Nvidia provides chips used to train so-called foundation models such as OpenAI's GPT-4.

"More companies are now embracing artificial intelligence in their everyday tasks and demand remains strong for Nvidia chips," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"It is certainly in a sweet spot and so long as we avoid a big economic downturn in the United States, there is a feeling that companies will continue to invest heavily in AI capabilities, creating a healthy tailwind for Nvidia."

Nvidia's shares hit a record high on Tuesday, building on a rally from last week when TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, posted a forecast-beating 54% jump in quarterly profit driven by soaring demand for chips used in AI.

The next big test will be when Nvidia reports third-quarter results in November. Nvidia in August forecast third-quarter revenue of $32.5 billion, plus or minus 2%, compared with the current average analyst expectation of $32.90 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore said in a note dated Oct. 10 that he remains "very bullish" about the company longer term, but the recent rally "raises the bar for earnings somewhat".

After a meeting with Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang, Moore noted the ramp up in production of its next-generation Blackwell chips appeared to be "quite strong" and are booked out for 12 months. The stock came under pressure in August after Nvidia confirmed reports that the production of Blackwell chips was delayed until the fourth quarter.

Shares of Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft have an outsized influence on the richly valued technology sector as well as the broader US stock market, with the trio accounting for about a fifth of the S&P 500 index's weightage.

Frenzy around the prospects of AI, expectations that the US Federal Reserve will considerably bring down interest rates, and most recently, an upbeat start to the earnings season, have pushed the benchmark S&P 500 to an all-time high last week.

Nvidia's massive gains have helped boost the stock's appeal for option traders and the company's options are among the most traded on any given day in recent months, according to data from options analytics provider Trade Alert.

The stock has surged nearly 190% so far this year as a boom in generative AI prompted the company to issue a series of blowout forecasts.

"The question is whether the revenue stream will last for a long time and will be driven by the emotion of investors rather than by any ability to prove or disprove the thesis that AI is overdone," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.

"I think Nvidia knows that near term, their numbers are likely to be quite remarkable."



Taiwan May Exports Hit Record on AI Demand and Ahead of US Tariffs

A man rides a motobike on the street with wind turbines in the background, in Changhua, Taiwan May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
A man rides a motobike on the street with wind turbines in the background, in Changhua, Taiwan May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
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Taiwan May Exports Hit Record on AI Demand and Ahead of US Tariffs

A man rides a motobike on the street with wind turbines in the background, in Changhua, Taiwan May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
A man rides a motobike on the street with wind turbines in the background, in Changhua, Taiwan May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang

Taiwan's exports surged to a record in May on booming demand for artificial intelligence and as customers placed orders ahead of US tariffs which could take effect next month after a suspension period expires.

Exports increased 38.6% from the same month a year ago - the fastest pace in almost 15 years - to $51.74 billion, a record high and the first time the value of exports has exceeded $50 billion, the finance ministry said on Monday.

The expansion, the 19th consecutive monthly gain, was higher than the 25% expected by economists in a Reuters poll and surpassed April's 29.9% rise.

Taiwan companies such as TSMC , the world's largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple , Nvidia and other tech giants.

May exports benefited from continued strong AI demand and customers bringing forward orders to hedge against the possibility of increased U.S. tariffs, the ministry said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump planned a 32% import levy on goods from Taiwan under his global tariff regime, until he announced a 90-day pause in April to allow for trade negotiations.

While AI and other new technologies should continue to support Taiwan's exports, the uncertainty surrounding the US tariffs and geopolitical risks could undermine the global economic outlook, the ministry said.

For June, the ministry expects exports to rise between 15% and 25% year-on-year.

In May, Taiwan's exports to the United States soared 87.4% year-on-year to $15.52 billion, a record in terms of growth and value, versus a 29.5% surge in the prior month.

Exports to China, Taiwan's biggest trading partner, climbed 16.6%, after rising 22.3% in April.

Taiwan's total exports of electronic components gained 28.4% in May on the year to $17.2 billion, with semiconductor exports up 30.1%.

Imports rose 25% to $39.13 billion, lower than economists' forecasts of 30.2%.