Nvidia Becomes First Company to Briefly Hit $4 Trillion Market Value, Surpassing Apple and Microsoft
Nvidia has made history by briefly becoming the world’s first publicly traded company to reach a $4 trillion market value, marking a new milestone in the ongoing artificial intelligence boom that has reshaped the global tech landscape.
Shares of the U.S. chipmaker rose 2.76% early on Wednesday, pushing its valuation past the $4 trillion threshold during intraday trading. Although Nvidia’s stock later trimmed its gains, it closed the day up 1.8%, with its market cap just below the historic mark.
The surge cements Nvidia’s lead over tech giants Apple and Microsoft, both of which have vied for the top spot in recent months. Apple, which entered 2024 as the most valuable company at around $3.9 trillion, has seen a dip in valuation amid growing economic uncertainty and trade tensions. Meanwhile, Microsoft, currently valued at roughly $3.77 trillion, is projected by analysts to soon cross the $4 trillion mark as well.
Nvidia’s meteoric rise is largely attributed to its dominant role in powering the AI revolution. The company’s high-performance chips are the backbone of the data infrastructure behind AI systems run by industry heavyweights such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. With global AI infrastructure spending expected to surpass $200 billion by 2028, Nvidia’s role remains central.
In the fiscal quarter ending April, Nvidia reported $44.1 billion in revenue – a 69% year-over-year increase. The company first crossed the $1 trillion mark in May 2023, making its ascent to $4 trillion one of the fastest in market history.
“This is a historic moment not just for Nvidia, but for the entire tech sector,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. “Nvidia is the beating heart of the AI revolution.”
Beyond AI chips, Nvidia is also expanding into robotics and autonomous vehicles. At its developers conference in March, the company unveiled the Blackwell Ultra chip, designed to handle more complex AI tasks with enhanced reasoning capabilities.
Nvidia’s explosive growth has also catapulted CEO Jensen Huang into the ranks of the world’s wealthiest individuals. As of Tuesday, Bloomberg listed Huang as the tenth richest person globally, with an estimated net worth of $140 billion.
Huang’s influence extends into the political sphere as well. He has met with U.S. President Donald Trump and recently accompanied him on a high-profile trip to Saudi Arabia. Nvidia is also a partner in Project Stargate, Trump’s ambitious $500 billion AI infrastructure program aimed at strengthening U.S. dominance in tech.
However, Nvidia’s rapid ascent hasn’t been without challenges. The company has faced headwinds from both geopolitical tensions and technological competition. Earlier this year, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek rattled markets with a powerful and more affordable AI model, sparking fears about Nvidia’s hardware pricing and sending its stock down sharply. Additionally, U.S. export restrictions on certain AI chips to China cost the company an estimated $2.5 billion in missed revenue last quarter.
Despite these setbacks, Nvidia has rebounded strongly, with its stock up nearly 74% since early April.
Huang remains optimistic about the company’s long-term trajectory. Speaking during Nvidia’s earnings call in May, he said, “AI is going to be essential for every country and every industry. We are just at the beginning of a transformation that will reshape the world.”
Analysts appear to agree. A recent report by Loop Capital projected that Nvidia’s market value could reach $6 trillion by 2028, citing the company’s near-monopoly on critical AI technology.
With AI adoption continuing to expand across sectors from health care to finance and manufacturing, Nvidia’s influence – and valuation – appears far from peaking.
