Google parent overtakes Apple as world's second most valuable firm
What's the story
Google's parent company, Alphabet, has surpassed Apple to become the second most valuable company in the world by market capitalization. The tech giant's market cap now stands at a whopping $3.88 trillion with 12.07 billion shares outstanding. This comes after Alphabet's Class A shares (GOOGL) closed at $322.04, gaining 2.45% for the day and delivering an impressive 64.73% return over the past year.
Apple update
Apple's market cap and stock performance
Apple, a long-time leader in global equity markets, is now third with a market cap of $3.84 trillion. The company's stock (AAPL) closed at $260.36, down 0.76%. With 14.78 billion shares outstanding, Apple's one-year stock performance has gained just 7.49% compared to Alphabet's impressive returns over the same period.
NVIDIA dominance
NVIDIA maintains lead in global valuation charts
NVIDIA Corporation still tops the global valuation charts with a market cap of $4.59 trillion. The semiconductor giant's shares (NVDA) closed at $189.25, gaining 1.07%. With 24.3 billion shares outstanding and a stock that has risen 25.32% over the past year, NVIDIA is riding high on strong demand for its GPUs amid the ongoing AI boom.
AI impact
Alphabet's market value boosted by AI platform and Waymo
Alphabet's rising market value is also fueled by the growing popularity of its generative AI platform, Gemini. The company's large language model has witnessed a spike in usage since the launch of its latest version, further strengthening Alphabet's position in the AI sector. Additionally, Alphabet owns Waymo, a key player in the US robotaxi market with commercial services open to public across several cities including Phoenix and San Francisco Bay Area.