Apple has once again secured its position as the world leader in market capitalisation, overtaking Nvidia.
This shift occurred as investors turned their attention to the perceived stability of the iPhone developer, driven by growing scepticism about the enormous spending associated with artificial intelligence.
At the close of trading on Friday, Apple’s market value stood at $5.03 trillion, despite a 1.2% fall in its share price, while Nvidia’s valuation fell to $4.93 trillion following a decline of 4.2%. This is the first time Apple has reclaimed the top spot since a brief spell in late July.
The market downturn was triggered by lacklustre financial reports from several tech giants, including Amazon and Intel, following similarly weak results from Meta and Alphabet. These results have reignited concerns that the vast amounts of capital invested in AI infrastructure may not deliver the expected returns.
Having taken a more conservative approach to such spending, Apple has emerged as this year’s strongest performer among the ‘Magnificent Seven’, with its shares rising by 27% in 2026 – more than double Nvidia’s growth.
While companies such as Amazon and Alphabet have faced negative free cash flow as a result of aggressive AI investment – forcing them to rely on increasingly expensive debt in a high-interest-rate environment – Apple remains in a robust financial position.
For the financial year ending on 30 September, the company’s free cash flow is expected to rise by 38% to an estimated $142 billion.
Broader market trends reflect this volatility: the Nasdaq 100 index recorded its steepest monthly decline since March 2025 in October, losing 6.7%.
Other AI-related companies have been hit even harder. Data centre providers Nebius Group and CoreWeave saw their valuations plunge by more than 30% this month. Intel suffered the heaviest blow, recording a historic monthly loss of more than 45%, its worst performance in more than four decades.
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