# Apple briefly overtakes Nvidia as most valuable company

> Apple topped Nvidia intraday on AI worries; Nvidia reclaimed lead by close.

*A sharp Nvidia selloff let Apple take the crown for hours on 17 July before Nvidia closed back on top.*

By Behzad Hosseini · FeaturedDaily
Canonical: https://featureddaily.com/news/apple-briefly-overtakes-nvidia-as-most-valuable-company

**What happened:** Apple briefly became the world's most valuable company on Friday 17 July 2026, as Nvidia shares slid on AI valuation worries. By the close, Nvidia had reclaimed the top spot.

**The numbers:** Nvidia fell as much as 4.6% in the first 30 minutes of trading, dropping below $4.8 trillion, while Apple rose to roughly $4.9 trillion at its peak. Reuters put the gap at $4.88 trillion for Apple against $4.86 trillion for Nvidia after a 3.5% Nvidia drop. By the close, Nvidia had recovered to just over $4.9 trillion, about $6 billion ahead of Apple, according to [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-17/apple-tops-nvidia-as-world-s-largest-company-amid-tech-rotation).

**The context:** It was the first time Apple had held the top spot since April 2025. Nvidia was the first company ever to pass $5 trillion in market value.

**Why it matters:** Apple is up almost 23% this year, with investors favouring its AI plans and its relatively low spending on data-centre infrastructure. Nvidia is up just 9% as money rotates into memory chips and other data-centre suppliers amid broader unease about AI stock valuations.

**Who's affected:** Apple's climb has been helped by record highs, an HSBC upgrade to "buy" citing new AI features, and strong reviews of the redesigned Siri, according to [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/7/17/apple-regains-top-spot-as-worlds-most-valuable-company).

**The rivals:** The brief swap underlines a live market debate: whether AI profits will flow mainly to the companies selling the chips, like Nvidia, or the companies that own the devices people actually use, like Apple.

**What's next:** Tim Cook is preparing to hand the Apple CEO role to hardware chief John Ternus in September.

## Key takeaways

- Apple hit $4.9tn, its first time on top since April 2025
- Nvidia fell up to 4.6% before closing $6bn ahead of Apple
- Tim Cook is handing the CEO role to John Ternus in September

## 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