# Apple briefly overtakes Nvidia as world's most valuable company

> Apple briefly led Nvidia in market value on 17 July before Nvidia reclaimed the top spot.

*Nvidia shares fell as much as 4.6% on Friday before recovering to close ahead of Apple by about $6 billion.*

By Behzad Hosseini · WireRead
Canonical: https://wireread.com/news/apple-briefly-overtakes-nvidia-as-world-s-most-valuable-company

Apple briefly overtook Nvidia as the world's most valuable company on Friday 17 July 2026, before Nvidia reclaimed the top spot by the close of trading, according to Bloomberg.

Nvidia said its shares fell as much as 4.6% in the first 30 minutes of trading, pushing its market value below $4.8 trillion. Apple edged up to about $4.9 trillion at its high point in the session.

Reuters put Apple's value at $4.88 trillion against Nvidia's $4.86 trillion after a 3.5% drop in Nvidia shares.

It was the first time Apple had held the top spot since April 2025.

By the close, the order flipped back. [Bloomberg reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-17/apple-tops-nvidia-as-world-s-largest-company-amid-tech-rotation) Nvidia finished the day down 2.2% at just over $4.9 trillion, about $6 billion ahead of Apple.

Apple was up almost 23% for the year as investors responded to its AI plans and its low spending on data-centre infrastructure, according to the notes. Nvidia was up only 9% as money rotated into memory chips and other data-centre suppliers, amid worries about AI stock valuations.

Apple's gains that week followed record highs for the stock, an upgrade to buy from HSBC citing new AI features, and positive reviews of the redesigned Siri, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/7/17/apple-regains-top-spot-as-worlds-most-valuable-company). Nvidia had been the first company to pass $5 trillion in market value.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook was preparing to hand the role to hardware chief John Ternus in September. The swing in valuation reflects a wider market debate over whether AI profits accrue to chipmakers or to the companies that make the devices people use.

## Key takeaways

- Apple's market value hit about $4.9 trillion, its first time on top since April 2025
- Nvidia shares fell up to 4.6% before trading, dropping its value below $4.8 trillion
- Nvidia closed the day about $6 billion ahead of Apple, at just over $4.9 trillion

## Sources

- [Apple Briefly Tops Nvidia as World's Most Valuable Company](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-17/apple-tops-nvidia-as-world-s-largest-company-amid-tech-rotation) — Bloomberg, 2026-07-17
- [Apple regains top spot as world's most valuable company](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/7/17/apple-regains-top-spot-as-worlds-most-valuable-company) — Al Jazeera, 2026-07-17