Apple reclaims most valuable company title as global chip selloff deepens

Nvidia ↘ 1.47% surrendered its crown as the world's most valuable publicly traded company on Monday after its shares fell nearly 5%, dropping the chipmaker's market capitalization to roughly $4.77 trillion. Apple ↘ 0.80%, whose stock rose about 2% on the day, reclaimed the top spot with a valuation approaching $4.95 trillion.businessinsider+1

The swap came amid a broad semiconductor rout that has erased hundreds of billions of dollars in market value across the sector in recent weeks, driven by mounting concerns over Chinese chip competition and doubts about the sustainability of AI infrastructure spending.wtaq+1

A Blockbuster IPO Rattles the Sector

A key catalyst for Monday's selloff was the blockbuster debut of Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT Corp. on Shanghai's STAR Market. Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies surged more than 470% on their first day of trading, instantly making it the most valuable company listed on China's mainland market and overtaking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The IPO raised 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion), Asia's largest this year, according to Reuters.reuters+2

The listing underscored the rapid progress of China's state-backed semiconductor industry, amplifying investor anxiety about the competitive landscape for Western chipmakers. As CNBC reported, the selling extended into Tuesday's Asian session, with South Korea's SK Hynix plunging more than 10% and Samsung Electronics falling over 8%. South Korea's Kospi was down 7.3% in early trading.cnbc+1

Apple Eyes Earnings as It Returns to the Top

Apple's relative resilience owes partly to anticipation ahead of its fiscal third-quarter earnings report, scheduled for Thursday, July 30. Wall Street analysts expect revenue of approximately $108.6 billion and diluted earnings per share of $1.89. The company has been the best-performing member of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks this year, with its shares up roughly 20% year to date.ig+2

Monday marked the second time in July that Apple overtook Nvidia for the top valuation spot. On July 17, Apple briefly reclaimed the title during an earlier chip selloff sparked by the release of Chinese AI startup Moonshot's Kimi K3 model, which pushed the PHLX Semiconductor Index ↘ 1.19% into bear-market territory.reuters+1

Leverage and Liquidation

CNBC's Jim Cramer warned on Monday that the semiconductor selling may not be over, noting on X that the declines were being driven by "monstrous, motivated and often margined" sellers — a reference to leveraged positions being unwound by margin calls. Advanced Micro Devices ↘ 1.47% fell more than 8% on the session, while Intel ↘ 1.02% dropped as well, despite both stocks posting triple-digit gains year to date.247wallst