After months of playing second fiddle to AI chipmaker Nvidia, Apple reclaimed the title of the world’s most valuable publicly traded company on Monday. A rally in Apple’s stock price over the last month resulted in the Mac maker sailing past Nvidia and all other rivals back to the top of the list. And if that wasn’t enough, Cupertino’s market capitalization is closing in on an astonishing $5 trillion!
AAPL is up about 30% in 2026 on investors’ changing attitudes about AI. Here’s what’s going on down on Wall Street, and why there is renewed confidence in Apple.
Apple rises as investors change their tune on AI
Apple first became the world’s most valuable publicly traded company way back in 2012, and it held onto the title for many years. But then the artificial intelligence boom kicked off, and Microsoft grabbed the crown in 2024 based on its investment in OpenAI. Then Nvidia surged to the top thanks to explosive demand for its chips, which power many massive AI data centers.
But now investors have serious questions about how long the AI spending boom can continue, and whether the huge profits needed to pay for the trillions of dollars going into data centers will ever emerge.
Apple, in contrast, isn’t pouring fantastic sums into AI. And while Apple’s efforts have drawn criticism for lagging behind competitors, Wall Street appears increasingly comfortable with the company’s slower, more measured approach. Rather than racing to build giant AI models, Apple focused on integrating AI into features people use every day while relying on partners like OpenAI and Google for more demanding cloud-based tasks.
And don’t overlook that Apple benefits from a diverse revenue stream, predictable profits and enormous cash generation. It’s far more than a one-trick pony.
- See also: How Apple will win the AI war
Apple dethrones Nvidia to become world’s most valuable company again
The result is that Apple’s market capitalization closed the trading day on Monday at $4.94 trillion, up 1.17% on the day. Meanwhile, Nvidia plummeted 5% during the day to a market cap of $4.76 trillion.
For reference, Google’s market cap sits at $3.99 trillion and Microsoft closed the day at $2.89 trillion. OpenAI is not yet a publicly traded company.
Apple briefly took back the title as world’s most valuable company on July 17, but couldn’t hold on. On Monday, Apple moved to the top early during the trading day and stayed there, up to and including the close.
Can it hold on?
Whether Apple stays at the top of the greasy Wall Street pole will depend heavily on what company executives say Thursday when the company is scheduled to report its latest quarterly earnings. Wall Street will be closely watching for updates on iPhone demand, Apple Intelligence adoption and the company’s expanding AI strategy. Analysts will also be looking for any signs that higher component costs, including more expensive memory chips, are affecting margins.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
