Nvidia briefly surpassed Amazon in market value, marking a significant moment in its impressive year-long rally fueled by increased demand for its AI computing chips. Closing at about $1.78 trillion, Nvidia experienced a nearly 0.2 percent rise, while Amazon, with a 1.2 percent decline, closed at $1.79 trillion. The temporary elevation made Nvidia the fourth most valuable US-listed company during the regular session, sitting just below Alphabet at $1.84 trillion. Microsoft holds a value of $3.09 trillion, and Apple at $2.89 trillion.
According to Saxo Bank’s Peter Garnry, Nvidia's surge is attributed to riding the initial investment wave of the current AI boom, marked by substantial capital expenditures in data centers. Nvidia's shares, after being range-bound in the latter half of 2023, surged almost 50 percent in the new year, driven by robust demand for its chips in data centers catering to complex computing tasks required by AI applications. The company has gained approximately $600 billion in market value in 2024, surpassing its growth in the last seven months of 2023.
Despite Amazon's strong sales in the fourth quarter, resulting in an 8 percent increase in its shares, Nvidia's surge briefly elevated its market value above that of Alphabet. Nvidia is the final tech giant scheduled to report earnings, with results expected on February 21.