SYBX

[SAN FRANCISCO] Apple reclaimed the title of world’s most valuable company on Friday (Oct 30), taking the mantle from Nvidia as investors seek the perceived safety of the iPhone maker amid concerns about artificial intelligence spending.

Shares of Apple fell 1.2 per cent on Friday, resulting in a market capitalisation of US$5.03 trillion, while Nvidia sank 4.2 per cent to close with a valuation of US$4.93 trillion. This is the first time Apple has overtaken Nvidia since briefly doing so in late July.

Friday’s sell-off came as a number of major technology companies disappointed with their results, including Intel and Amazon.com, which followed similarly disappointing reports from Alphabet and Meta Platforms, among others. The reports renewed concerns about the outlook for AI spending, something Apple has largely foregone.

Fears that heavy spending on AI computing infrastructure won’t pay off have helped make Apple, which has kept a lid on capital expenditures, by far the best performing of the Magnificent Seven tech giants this year. Its shares are up 27 per cent in 2026, more than twice the gain of second place Nvidia, which is a key beneficiary of AI spending.

The outlays have gotten so large that companies like Alphabet and Amazon.com have seen their free cashflow turn negative, forcing them to increasingly turn to debt markets for funding. Meanwhile, rising interest rates are raising the cost of borrowing.

Apple, by contrast, is projected to see its free cash flow climb 38 per cent to $142 billion in fiscal 2026, which ended on Sep 30.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index fell 6.7 per cent in October, its worst month since March 2025.

CoreWeave and Nebius Group, data centre owners that offer AI computing services, have dropped more than 30 per cent this month. With Friday’s collapse, Intel lost more than 45 per cent in October, its biggest ever one-month drop in data compiled by Bloomberg going back more than 40 years. BLOOMBERG