Apple passes Nvidia as world’s most valuable company

Apple ↘ 1.23% passed Nvidia ↘ 4.22% as the world's most valuable listed company on Friday, October 30, as a broad sell-off in artificial intelligence stocks hit the chipmaker. Apple's shares slipped about 0.5% during the session, but Nvidia fell around 4%, which was enough to push Apple's market value back above Nvidia's, elEconomista reported. Investors have been rewarding the iPhone maker for staying out of the costly race to build AI infrastructure.eleconomista.es

Intel warning deepens the rout

Friday's slide started with Intel ↘ 28.58%. The chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, short of the roughly $17 billion analysts expected, and its shares dropped about 25% before the market opened, Reuters reported. Advanced Micro Devices ↘ 10.88%, Broadcom ↘ 5.48% and other chip stocks fell with it as investors grew more worried about how AI spending is being paid for. According to elEconomista, Nvidia is now down more than 14% from its record close on October 6.centraloregondaily.com+1

Other large tech companies also had a bad week. Alphabet ↘ 1.45% fell more than 12% and Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 1.41% about 4% after their earnings reports, as investors questioned whether Amazon's $220 billion in capital spending this year will pay off, Investor's Business Daily reported. Apple has traded near record highs ahead of its quarterly results, which are due on Monday, November 2.investors.com

Rewarded for spending less

Apple is the only Magnificent Seven company whose expected 2026 capital spending has gone down this year. FactSet consensus estimates fell 26%, from $14 billion to $10.3 billion, while the other six companies' forecasts rose by an average of 42.2%, elEconomista reported. Alphabet reported negative free cash flow of $9 billion in the third quarter. Analysts expect Apple to report about $141 billion in positive free cash flow for the 12 months through September, Expansión noted.expansion.com+1

Apple's stock has gained about 27% this year and leads the group, CNBC reported. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria called Apple "the place to hide from the AI trade." Jay Woods of Freedom Capital Markets said the company once "criticized the most" for lacking an AI strategy "is now the leader of this cohort."cnbc.com

A crown that keeps changing hands

The top spot has changed hands several times this year. Apple briefly passed Nvidia during trading on October 23, the day its foldable iPhone Duo went on sale, Business Insider reported, but Nvidia was back in first place by the close, Yahoo Finance reported. Apple also held the lead for less than a week in late July.markets.businessinsider.com+1

Not everyone sees the shift as a good sign for the wider market. Matt Maley of Miller Tabak warned that if major indexes fall harder, investors may "stop rotating into other sectors and start rotating into cash," elEconomista reported.eleconomista.es