Apple has overtaken Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company, ending the AI chipmaker's near year-long run at the top of the global market-cap rankings.
Nvidia shares fell about 3% on Friday, dropping its market value to $4.84 trillion, while Apple hovered near $4.88 trillion.
It is the first time Apple has held the title since April 2025, and the first time since then that the world's biggest company is not an AI chipmaker.
The changing of the guard follows a swing of roughly $1.45 trillion between the two companies over the past two months.
Nvidia had been the world's most valuable company since June 2025, when it surpassed Microsoft, and in October became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market capitalisation.
The two stocks have diverged sharply this year.
Apple has risen roughly 22% in 2026, leading the so-called Magnificent Seven, while Nvidia has added only about 7%.
The reversal reflects a broader rotation as Wall Street grows less enthusiastic about companies at the centre of the AI infrastructure buildout.
Apple has benefited from sitting that buildout out.
The company spent just $12.7 billion on capital expenditure in its 2025 financial year while generating $98.8 billion in free cash flow, a stark contrast with the hundreds of billions being committed by rival technology giants.
HSBC upgraded the stock to buy this week, lifting its price target to $366 and calling Apple an "operational turning point" story, noting it invests only 2.5% of 2026 sales in capital spending against 39% for the hyper-scalers.
Apple is well placed to leverage its 2.5 billion installed device base with its revamped Apple Intelligence, backed by a hardware pipeline including the iPhone 18 Pro this autumn, an iPhone Air in April 2027 and a book-style foldable phone.
Apple shares hit fresh record highs this week, and news of an expanded iPhone lineup sent the stock up nearly 5% on Wednesday, narrowing the market-cap gap to about $190 billion before Friday's crossover.
Nvidia's slide comes despite robust fundamentals.
The company posted revenue of $81.6 billion in its fiscal first quarter, up 85% year on year, with the pressure on chip stocks reflecting a sentiment shift rather than any fundamental problem.
The milestone also lands amid a leadership transition at Apple, with chief executive Tim Cook set to hand over to hardware engineering chief John Ternus in September while moving to an executive chairman role.
Apple reports fiscal third-quarter results on July 30, with Nvidia due in late August, results that will test whether the new order holds.
