Apple briefly became the world’s most valuable listed company on Friday, July 17, as shares in Nvidia and other chipmakers fell.
By the end of trading, however, Nvidia had moved narrowly back ahead. Both companies had a stock-market value of about $4.9 trillion. Nvidia’s shares closed 2.2% lower, while Apple’s shares changed little.
The brief change at the top came during a difficult week for semiconductor companies. The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell about 10% during the week and ended more than 20% below its record high set in late June. A fall of 20% from a recent high is commonly described as a bear market.
Investors have been taking profits after a strong rise in AI-related shares. Some are also questioning whether the large sums being spent on AI chips and data centres will produce the expected financial returns.
A new open-weight AI model from Chinese company Moonshot AI added to those concerns by renewing discussion about whether advanced AI systems can be developed more efficiently.
As company valuations change with their share prices, Apple and Nvidia could exchange places again.
