Nvidia Surpasses Apple in Market Cap, Becoming Second-Most Valuable U.S. Company

Nvidia has surpassed Apple in market capitalization, becoming the second-most valuable U.S. public company, with Microsoft remaining in the lead. Nvidia's market value has surged to $3.019 trillion, largely propelled by the robust growth in its AI chip business, which now commands an 80% share of the data center market. This sector is experiencing a significant boom, drawing substantial investments from major cloud service providers.

Nvidia's stock has risen by over 24% since its recent earnings announcement, highlighting a remarkable 427% increase in data center revenue, which now constitutes 86% of its total sales. In contrast, Apple's growth has slowed, with only a 5% increase in stock value this year, partly attributable to a 10% drop in iPhone sales.

Once the most valuable company, Apple has been surpassed by Microsoft, which is also capitalizing on the AI infrastructure boom. Nvidia, originally focused on gaming hardware, has successfully transitioned to AI and cryptocurrency mining chips, witnessing a dramatic stock increase of over 3,290% in the past five years.