NEW YORK, June 19 — Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company yesterday, dethroning tech heavyweight Microsoft MSFT.O as its high-end processors play a central role in a scramble to dominate artificial intelligence technology.
“It’s Nvidia’s market; we’re all just trading in it,” said Steve Sosnick, chief market strategist at Interactive Brokers.Nvidia has also become by far the most traded company on Wall Street, with daily turnover recently averaging US$50 billion, compared to around US$10 billion each for Apple, Microsoft and Tesla, according to LSEG data. The chipmaker now accounts for about 16 per cent of all trading in S&P 500 companies.
An insatiable appetite for Nvidia’s AI processors, viewed as far superior to competitors’ offerings, has left them in tight supply, and many investors view Nvidia as the greatest winner to date from surging AI development. The company’s market value expanded from US$1 trillion to US$2 trillion in just nine months in February, while taking just over three months to hit US$3 trillion in June.
Sharp increases in analysts’ expectations for Nvidia’s future earnings have outpaced its stellar stock gains, resulting in a fall in the stock’s earnings valuation.