Apple reclaimed its position as the world's most valuable public company on Monday, as its stock rose 1.3% to $337.40 while Nvidia shares fell nearly 5%. The shift pushed Apple's market capitalization to approximately $4.94 trillion, surpassing Nvidia's $4.83 trillion. A close above $340.43 would make Apple the first company to reach a $5 trillion valuation.
The reversal came amid ongoing investor caution over heavy AI infrastructure spending that has weighed on chipmakers. Nvidia's decline followed reports of possible financing concerns tied to OpenAI data centers, while Apple's capital spending has actually declined over the past three quarters. Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, noted that Apple has avoided the capex pitfalls facing peers who are pouring billions into AI data centers.
Analyst sentiment is increasingly bullish. HSBC upgraded AAPL to Buy with a $366 price target, calling it an 'operational turning point.' The analyst highlighted Apple's ability to leverage its 2.5 billion-device base for AI without heavy data center spending. Baird, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs also raised their targets, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy based on 16 Buys, 9 Holds, and 2 Sells.
Apple will report fiscal Q3 results on July 30 after the close. Wall Street expects earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $109.03 billion, representing roughly 20% growth year over year. The report will be CEO Tim Cook's final earnings call before he steps down on September 1, handing the role to hardware engineering head John Ternus. Investors will watch for updates on Apple Intelligence adoption, device refresh cycles, and services growth, including the expansion of AppleCare One to new markets and the planned launch of smart glasses with privacy-focused limits.
