Nvidia loses its $5 trillion crown as Apple takes the top spot

Apple has reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable company, overtaking Nvidia after a sharp selloff in AI-related stocks. Apple’s market value reached $5.03 trillion on Friday, even as its shares fell 1.2 %. Nvidia dropped 4.2 %, closing with a valuation of $4.93 trillion, as growing concerns about the returns on massive AI infrastructure investments weighed on technology companies.

This is the first time Apple has overtaken the chipmaker since briefly reclaiming the top spot in late July. Apple shares are up 27 % in 2026, nearly triple Nvidia’s 9.7 % gain this year.

The shift comes amid growing investor worries that heavy spending on AI data centers may not deliver the returns companies expect. Several major technology companies, including Intel and Amazon, disappointed investors with their latest results, following similarly disappointing reports from Alphabet and Meta.

Apple has largely avoided the spending spree, keeping its capital expenditures relatively low compared with major AI infrastructure providers. This has helped make it the best-performing company among the Magnificent Seven this year.

Apple has kept capital spending relatively low and is projected to increase free cash flow by 38 % to $142 billion in fiscal 2026, which ended September 30. By contrast, Alphabet and Amazon have seen their free cash flow turn negative as AI-related investments increase, forcing them to rely more heavily on debt financing.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 6.7 % in October, its worst month since March 2025. AI infrastructure companies were hit especially hard: CoreWeave and Nebius each lost more than 30 % during the month, while Intel shares plunged more than 45 %, marking the company's steepest monthly decline in over 40 years.