"Old Deng" counterattacks! Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) briefly surpasses NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) to become the world's highest market value company.

Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) is using "defense as offense" in the AI wave, temporarily regaining the title of the world's highest market value company with its light asset strategy and AI recovery expectations. On Friday, shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) fell by about 2%, impacted by the release of the new model Kimi K3 by the Chinese AI developer Yue Zhi An Mian, causing a general decline in technology stocks. The stock price of Apple Inc. remained relatively stable, and its market value briefly surpassed that of NVIDIA Corporation, reclaiming the title of the highest global market value company after more than a year. At the close, NVIDIA Corporation's market value of $4.908 trillion was slightly ahead of Apple Inc.'s $4.902 trillion, with the difference being very small. This comeback reflects a deep change in market sentiment. Investors are starting to reassess the relative value of the "heavy reinvestment" and "light asset" paths in the AI race, with some investors considering Apple Inc. a safe haven in AI trading. Under pressure, NVIDIA Corporation faces the logic of AI without burning money, while Apple Inc. "lies down and wins." The direct catalyst for this market value shifting was the release of the Kimi K3 new model, which once again raised questions about the exorbitant AI infrastructure investment in Silicon Valley. As a core supplier of AI computing power, NVIDIA Corporation was hit first, resulting in a 2% drop in its stock price in a single day. At the same time, Apple Inc. did not follow the decline of the overall technology stock market, and its market value approached the $5 trillion mark. NVIDIA Corporation first broke the $5 trillion mark in October last year, becoming the first company in history to reach this milestone, and if Apple Inc. can hold firm at this mark, it will become the second company in history to do so. Apple Inc.'s uniqueness in the AI race lies in its deliberate low capital expenditure strategy. According to analysts at HSBC, the proportion of AI data center and other capital expenditures in Apple Inc.'s predicted sales in 2026 is only about 2.5%, while for "super-scale cloud manufacturers" such as Meta, Alphabet Inc. Class C, Amazon.com, Inc., and Microsoft Corporation, this proportion is as high as 39%. This comparison makes Apple Inc. appear particularly "steady" in the current market environment. While competitors promise to invest billions in building chips and data centers, Apple Inc.'s restraint has become a chip attracting funds. Multiple catalysts are driving the stock price rebound. Apple Inc.'s stock price has risen by about 20% since the end of June, with multiple positives coming through. The redesigned Siri voice assistant officially debuted last month and received positive reviews in the market; signals from Chinese regulators suggest that Apple Inc.'s new AI system is expected to launch soon in the world's largest smartphone market, further boosting investor confidence. At the same time, Apple Inc. is negotiating with the Trump administration to be allowed to purchase memory chips from Longxin Storage, a move that, if successful, will help alleviate its rising component costs. Apple Inc. has also launched a legal challenge against OpenAI, accusing its former employees of stealing commercial secrets after moving to ChatGPT's parent company, a move that has also been positively interpreted on Wall Street. Wall Street upgrades its rating and is optimistic about the AI product cycle. On Friday, analysts at HSBC upgraded their rating on Apple Inc. to buy, becoming one of the few major banks on Wall Street that had not previously issued a buy rating. In a research report, HSBC stated that Apple Inc. "has sufficient conditions to leverage the upcoming upgraded version of Apple Intelligence to leverage its installed base of 2.5 billion devices." HSBC also pointed out, "This AI boost comes at the right time, and we believe that Apple Inc. currently has one of its most innovative product pipelines in history," and predicted that the first foldable iPhone will be released in September. However, Apple Inc. has not been without setbacks. Last month, Apple Inc. announced a price hike of up to 20% for its iPad and Mac products, warning of "an abnormal surge in memory and storage demands." The news led to the largest single-day drop in stock price since the tariff impact from Trump last year. But with the emergence of multiple positive news, the stock price quickly stabilized and rebounded. This article is reprinted from "Wall Street News," GMTEight Editor: Zhang Jinliang.