Apple retakes world's most valuable company crown as AI spending doubts hit Nvidia
Apple Inc reclaimed the title of the world's most valuable company on Friday, ending Nvidia Corp's reign as investors wary of the bill for artificial intelligence spending sought shelter in the iPhone maker's leaner cost base. Apple's market capitalisation stood at US$5.03 trillion after its shares slipped 1.2%, while Nvidia fell 4.2% to close at US$4.93 trillion, according to Token Times. It is the first time Apple has overtaken Nvidia since a brief spell on top in late July.
The rotation came as disappointing results from Intel Corp and Amazon.com Inc followed similarly weak reports from Alphabet Inc and Meta Platforms Inc, renewing doubts about the returns on AI infrastructure. Apple has largely sat out that spending race, keeping capital expenditure in check, and its shares are up 27% in 2026, more than double the gain of second-placed Nvidia, a key beneficiary of AI outlays.
The strain is showing on the balance sheets of the biggest spenders. Alphabet and Amazon have seen free cash flow turn negative, pushing them towards debt markets just as rising interest rates make borrowing dearer. Apple, by contrast, is projected to lift free cash flow 38% to US$142 billion in the fiscal year ended 30 September.
The market's verdict was blunt. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index fell 6.7% in October, its worst month since March 2025, while data centre operators CoreWeave Inc and Nebius Group, which sell AI computing services, each dropped more than 30% over the month. Intel lost more than 45% in October, its steepest one-month decline in data going back more than four decades.
For investors, the message is that the AI trade now carries a financing cost. Companies that borrowed to build computing capacity are being marked down as rates rise, while the hardware maker that stayed out of the spending race has become the sector's safe harbour.
