Apple has once again become the world's most valuable publicly traded company, after its market capitalization hit $5.03 trillion at the close of trading on Oct. 30. Nvidia remained in second place with $4.93 trillion, a gap of about $100 billion between the two companies.
The change came on a day when both companies' shares fell, but Nvidia's decline was significantly greater. Apple's shares lost 1.2%, while the chipmaker's fell 4.2%. Apple regained the lead for the first time since briefly overtaking Nvidia in late July.
Investors rethink spending on artificial intelligence
According to Bloomberg, the move is related to growing doubts about whether the huge investments in artificial intelligence will bring the expected returns. The agency describes the market sentiment with the words: “Investors seek the perceived security of the iPhone maker“.
The pressure on technology stocks intensified after the financial reports of Intel and Amazon. The data from both companies renewed concerns that spending on computing infrastructure, data centers and specialized chips may not pay off quickly enough. Similar questions have been raised in the past after reports from Alphabet and Meta Platforms.
Apple finds itself in a different position, as it maintains a more limited capital expenditure than companies building large-scale infrastructure for artificial intelligence. According to Bloomberg, Apple's free cash flow for the fiscal year 2026, which ended on September 30, is expected to grow by 38% to $142 billion.
Apple leads the way in stock growth in 2026.
Since the beginning of 2026, Apple shares have risen by 27% - more than twice the growth of Nvidia shares. That makes the iPhone maker the best-performing company among the big tech companies known as the “Magnificent Seven,” according to market data compiled by Bloomberg.
In the broader tech market, October ended with heavy losses. The Nasdaq 100 index fell 6.7% for the month – its weakest performance since March 2025. The shift between Apple and Nvidia shows how quickly market rankings can change amid sharp stock movements and a shift in sentiment toward spending on artificial intelligence.
Sources: ca.finance.yahoo.com, investing.com, bloomberglinea-bloomberglinea-prod.web.arc-cdn.net