On Monday, Apple overtook Nvidia to reclaim its position as the world's most valuable listed company. This shift was driven not only by the contrasting stock prices of the two companies, but also by a repricing of the market following a cooling of AI hardware sales.
Nvidia shares fell, while Apple's value rose to approximately $5 trillion.
Reports indicate that Nvidia's total market capitalization fell to approximately $4.77 trillion after Monday's decline. Apple's stock price rose by about 2%, increasing its total market capitalization to approximately $5 trillion, thus reversing their rankings once again.
Nvidia's recent stock price drop followed news of a funding round. Reports indicated that Nvidia was in talks to secure $250 billion in funding for its OpenAI data center project. This news reignited market concerns about "circular trading" and excessive capital expenditures.
AI hardware sector has weakened in recent weeks.
More crucial than Apple's single-day surge is the overall decline in the global AI hardware sector in recent weeks. Market enthusiasm for AI trading has waned, and funds have begun to withdraw from high-momentum stocks, putting pressure on memory chip manufacturers and other semiconductor companies.
In this round of adjustments, Nvidia lost some of its leading advantage. Although the company's stock price is still up about 6% this year, it no longer consistently dominates the performance of large-cap technology stocks as it has before.
Apple benefits from fund rotation
Apple's performance this year has been relatively more stable. The report mentions that Apple's stock price has risen nearly 24% so far in 2026, quietly moving it into the forefront among the "Big Seven" tech companies.
Meanwhile, Tesla, Microsoft, and Meta continued their year-to-date declines. Apple, which had previously faced criticism from investors and analysts for its less aggressive AI strategy, may find its relatively conservative approach supported by a shift in market sentiment.
As funds withdraw from crowded AI hardware deals, large-cap tech stocks targeting the consumer market and with relatively less concentrated holdings are gaining more attention. Apple's return to the top of the market capitalization list also reflects the accelerating rotation of funds within the US tech sector.
