A landmark event occurred at the opening of the trading session on Friday: Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market capitalization, becoming the world's most valuable company. AAPL's market cap reached $4.92 trillion compared to NVDA's $4.86 trillion. Although Nvidia quickly reclaimed the lead, the gap between the giants has narrowed to a minimum, signaling a shift in market sentiment.
Apple (AAPL) shares rose 1.76%, hitting an all-time high of $333.26. Meanwhile, Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell 2.40% to $207.40. This battle for the top spot is the most intense since the start of the year and reflects deep-seated changes in investor preferences.
Apple's Rise Amid AI Stock Sell-off
Platform Barchart recorded this moment of leadership change in the early hours of trading. By the start of the main session, Nvidia had moved back ahead with a market cap of $5.02 trillion versus Apple's $4.89 trillion. The difference remained minimal — around $130 billion relative to their total market caps, indicating extremely fierce competition.
The dynamics for both companies are opposite: AAPL shares have gained over 7% in the past week, while NVDA has lost nearly 4% over the month due to persistent profit-taking by investors. On the Nasdaq 100 heat map, Apple is one of the few mega-cap companies in the green zone, while the entire chip sector came under pressure. Alphabet fell 4.44%, Broadcom dropped 5.03%, and AMD declined 5.33%, intensifying the sell-off in AI stocks that began in early July.
Different Growth Drivers
The companies are betting on different drivers. Apple relies on strong demand for the iPhone 17 and record performance from its services division, which generated $30.98 billion last quarter. Shares already hit an all-time high in early July amid an AI memory shortage, as buyers shifted to the premium segment.
For Nvidia, growth rates continue to accelerate. The company's quarterly revenue reached $81.6 billion — 85.2% higher than a year ago. The data center segment grew by 199%, as major players ramp up capacity for artificial intelligence. There are no signs of slowing demand in the fundamentals. The Blackwell 300 platform continues to gain traction, and TSMC raised its forecast, indicating a steady flow of orders for AI chips. Investors are taking profits after historic growth, despite NVDA's business accelerating.
Apple's July 30 Report May Decide Who Becomes the World's Most Valuable Company
The next trigger for the market will be set by Apple. The company reports on July 30, while Nvidia will release results only on August 26. Until then, Apple will have a month to shape the information narrative, while Nvidia will remain influenced by overall market sentiment.
Analysts will focus on services growth, revenue from China, and early signals about the iPhone 18. Last quarter, revenue in the region was $25.53 billion, and on Polymarket, the probability of an iPhone 18 announcement this year is estimated at 96%.
Company valuations shape investor choices. Nvidia trades at roughly 22 times forward annual earnings, with a PEG ratio of 0.6 and a target of $91 billion in quarterly revenue. Gross margin remains around 75% — much higher than Apple's approximately 49%.
Apple commands a multiple closer to 32. This premium is justified by a streak of eight quarters of earnings per share growth, a new $100 billion buyback, and a $30 billion deal with Broadcom that strengthens its position in the chip segment.
The situation among the leaders following Apple and Nvidia is also changing rapidly: Micron's market cap surge in June confirmed this. Meanwhile, the gap between the third-place company, Alphabet, and the leaders is over half a trillion dollars.
Apple Shows Steady Growth Above $315
On the daily chart, Apple shares hit all-time highs on Thursday and Friday — the latest peak recorded at $334.68. The price has been rising almost without pause since late June. On Thursday, Apple broke through the key resistance level of $315. This level had capped growth in May and mid-July; it could now act as support during potential pullbacks.
The upward move began after a bounce from the $275-280 zone on June 26. This range had acted as resistance since February, and the successful test gave bulls confidence for a new wave of growth. The move is supported by momentum: the daily RSI has risen above 70, indicating a clear dominance of bulls, though such high readings could signal a possible local correction.
My view: While Nvidia's fundamentals remain strong and its business is accelerating, the current correction is not a trend reversal but healthy profit-taking. However, Apple's July 30 report will be key: strong results in the Services and China segments could solidify AAPL's success. If weaknesses emerge, Nvidia will have a chance to pull ahead again before its August report.