Apple has reclaimed its position as the world’s most valuable publicly listed company, overtaking Nvidia as investors increasingly reward disciplined capital spending over aggressive investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to reports by Yahoo Finance and the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
The iPhone maker’s market capitalisation rose to approximately US$4.94 trillion, surpassing Nvidia’s US$4.83 trillion, after Apple shares gained around 1 percent. The rally has made Apple the best-performing member of the “Magnificent Seven” technology stocks this year, with its shares rising more than 22 percent year to date, according to Yahoo Finance.
The reports said investors have become increasingly cautious about the enormous capital expenditure commitments being made by technology companies to build AI infrastructure. Apple, by contrast, has maintained a relatively restrained approach to AI spending, avoiding the heavy investments in data centres and computing capacity pursued by many of its peers.
The shift in market leadership reflects a broader reassessment of how investors value AI companies. While Nvidia remains the dominant supplier of chips powering generative AI workloads, growing concerns over the scale of AI infrastructure spending and the timeline for returns have led investors to favour companies demonstrating stronger capital discipline.
According to reports, Apple has reduced capital expenditure over the past three quarters while continuing to expand its Apple Intelligence platform, in contrast to rivals that have committed tens of billions of dollars to AI infrastructure.
Apple’s return to the top highlights how the next phase of the AI race is being shaped not only by technological innovation, but also by how efficiently companies balance long-term AI ambitions with sustainable financial performance.
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