Apple Reclaims Global Market Cap Crown, Ending Nvidia's 272-Trading-Day Reign

Apple (AAPL-US) shares hit a new record high, surpassing Nvidia (NVDA-US) in market capitalization and reclaiming the title of the world's most valuable company, ending Nvidia's 272-trading-day reign. This ranking shift also reflects how, as tech giants continue expanding artificial intelligence (AI) investments, the market is re-evaluating whether massive capital expenditures can deliver commensurate returns.

Apple rose as high as $339.50 during Monday's (27th) trading session, setting a new all-time high. Its closing market cap reached $4.95 trillion, exceeding Nvidia's $4.76 trillion, allowing it to reclaim the global market cap crown.

If Apple's stock reaches $340.43, its market cap will surpass $5 trillion—a threshold the company has never crossed.

Nvidia, however, became the first company to surpass the $5 trillion market cap in late 2025. The AI chip giant had held the top spot since overtaking Apple in May 2025, but recent stock weakness allowed Apple to regain the lead.

Apple has significantly outperformed tech peers since July. The stock has risen 16% since the start of the month, on track for its best monthly performance in four years. Apple's monthly return leads the Nasdaq 100 Index by approximately 23 percentage points. If this trend continues through month-end, it will mark the largest monthly outperformance since 2005.

Year-to-date, Apple's stock has risen 24%, while Nvidia's has gained only about 5%. Apple is currently the only one among the Magnificent Seven tech giants still trading near its all-time highs, while the other six are at least 15% below their respective peaks.

Apple will report earnings on Thursday, with markets closely watching iPhone sales, product pricing, memory costs, and the company's latest commentary on AI business and capital expenditures.

After overtaking Apple in May 2025, Nvidia held the global market cap lead for over a year. Apple briefly surpassed Nvidia earlier this month, followed by another reversal, indicating how close the market cap gap has become between the two companies.

Apple's year-to-date stock gain of 24% clearly outpaces Nvidia's 5% rise. Aside from Apple, all other Magnificent Seven stocks are currently at least 15% below their historical highs.

Market Reassesses AI Investment Returns

Nvidia, at the heart of the AI boom, has long benefited from surging demand for data centers and AI chips. However, as tech firms continue to expand related spending, investors are shifting focus from capital expenditure scale to actual investment returns, and Nvidia's valuation has contracted notably over recent months.

Nvidia's current forward P/E ratio is about 18.2x, down from 25.5x at the start of the year. After Alphabet (GOOGL-US)(GOOG-US) raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast last week, the market expects other hyperscale cloud providers may follow, deepening concerns over rapidly increasing AI spending.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia is discussing a $250 billion financing guarantee for OpenAI, potentially funding the largest data center project to date. This news dragged Nvidia's shares down 4.99% on Monday to $196.51 per share, marking its worst single-day drop since June 5.

Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Favuzza noted in a Monday report that some investors view this potential arrangement as a representative case of concerns over 'circular financing' in the AI industry.

However, the deal remains in discussion and has not been finalized.

Apple's Conservative Investment Strategy Wins Market Favor

Compared to other tech giants continuously increasing AI capital expenditures, Apple has largely refrained from joining this large-scale investment race. The market previously criticized Apple for lacking a clear AI strategy, but as investors increasingly focus on cost and return, the company's relatively restrained spending approach has become a stock price advantage.

Apple's core business also remains strong.

Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said in a Monday report that iPhone sales remain strong, driving Apple's global smartphone market share up from 17% a year ago to 20%.

Even as global memory supply tightens, forcing Apple to raise prices on some products, the company's stock has continued rising this year.

Rise of Chinese Memory Makers Shakes Chip Stocks

Meanwhile, Chinese memory chip manufacturer ChangXin Storage (688825-CN) went public on Monday, sparking concerns over intensifying competition in the memory industry and dragging semiconductor stocks lower.

Investors worry that competitive Chinese memory suppliers expanding their market influence could weaken the pricing power of the world's three major memory manufacturers: Micron (MU-US), Samsung Electronics (005930-KR), and SK Hynix (SKHY-US).

Reports indicate that facing global memory supply bottlenecks, Apple is reportedly seeking to source DRAM from ChangXin Storage for use in its products.