Nvidia became the first publicly listed company to touch a market capitalisation of $4 trillion. The milestone came as shares of the semiconductor giant climbed 2.4% to a record high of $164 on July 9. Even though shares of the AI giant pared some gains to settle off its record high, it still ended the day with a commanding valuation of $3.97 trillion.
The scale of Nvidia’s growth is staggering. Since crossing the $1 trillion mark in June 2023, the company has more than tripled its market value in just over a year outpacing tech giants such as Apple and Microsoft. The latter two were the first US firms to hit $3 trillion, yet now trail Nvidia in relative growth, with market values around $3.75 trillion and $3 trillion, respectively.
With its stock now comprising 7.3% of the S&P 500 index, Nvidia has also become a cornerstone of the US equity markets. Apple and Microsoft, by comparison, make up roughly 7% and 6% of the benchmark index.
The latest surge also showcases a dramatic rebound from April, when Nvidia shares came under pressure amid global jitters triggered by a Trump’s sweeping wave of reciprocal tariffs. At the heart of the concerns were stricter export controls that could prohibit Nvidia from selling its most advanced AI chips to China, a market the company estimates to be worth $50 billion.
In May, Nvidia warned that US-imposed restrictions on its H20 chips designed for China could result in a revenue hit of up to $8 billion. CEO Jensen Huang did not mince words, calling the potential loss of access to China a ‘tremendous loss’ for the firm.
Yet even with the regulatory roadblocks and geopolitical tensions, Nvidia’s upward march has hardly stalled. Microsoft remains one of its biggest customers, and the global demand for AI infrastructure continues to rise at a staggering pace. Despite fears earlier this year that future AI models, such as China’s DeepSeek might rely less on Nvidia’s hardware, the company’s stronger than expected earnings, which still trails its share price growth, reflects its stellar growth prospects.
