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U.S. technology firm Nvidia reached a $4 trillion market capitalization on Wednesday, becoming the first publicly listed company to hit that milestone. The semiconductor manufacturer’s share price rose 2.6% by 1400 GMT, driven by increasing investor confidence in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in California, Nvidia has outpaced tech giants Apple and Microsoft—both of which had previously surpassed the $3 trillion mark—to claim the position of the world’s most valuable company.
Back in February 2024, Nvidia went past the $2 trillion mark, and then in June it hit $3 trillion.
The surge in Nvidia’s valuation is largely attributed to its dominance in producing graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for AI-related computing tasks, including the development of large language models (LLMs) and AI tools such as ChatGPT.
In its latest earnings report released in May, Nvidia posted a 69% year-over-year revenue increase, with a 73% jump in sales from its data center division, a key segment linked to AI infrastructure.
Nvidia's success comes at a time when it is facing tough regulatory challenges, with the company being affected by U.S. export controls, including measures introduced in April by the Trump administration that banned sales of its H20 AI processor – hardware specifically designed to comply with earlier restrictions targeting China.
As a result, Nvidia has written down $4.5 billion in unsold inventory and anticipates an $8 billion revenue loss due to these limitations. The company has publicly stated it is not factoring in any future revenue from China in its forecasts.
Nvidia’s stock rally contributed to a broader uptick on Wall Street, even as President Donald Trump escalated his trade rhetoric. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on copper and pharmaceutical imports, adding to a growing list of targeted sectors.
However, investors appeared to downplay the implications. By mid-morning Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 44,477.06, the S&P 500 advanced 0.7% to 6,266.23, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1% to reach 20,586.42.
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