Driven by Wall Street’s fervor for artificial intelligence (AI), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is on the brink of surpassing Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in market value for the first time in two decades, with the AI chipmaker closely trailing Google owner Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
With a remarkable 40% surge in Nvidia’s stock so far in 2024, its market capitalization has reached $1.715 trillion as of mid-day trading on Wednesday. This places it only about 3% below Amazon’s $1.767 trillion value and less than 6% below Alphabet’s $1.812 trillion value, according to LSEG data.
Nvidia’s shares experienced a 1.8% increase to $694.48 following an optimistic report from Morgan Stanley. The investment firm raised its price target to $750 from $603, citing continued surges in AI demand.
Having already tripled in value in 2023, Nvidia currently stands as the fifth most valuable company in the U.S. stock market.
Nvidia has emerged as a primary beneficiary in the tech industry’s race to integrate AI into its products and services. Notably, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and other major tech players have invested billions of dollars in Nvidia’s graphics processors.
However, AI developers have faced challenges in accessing Nvidia’s processors due to months-long waiting lists through cloud-computing providers. Nonetheless, these wait times are gradually decreasing, as highlighted by Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore.
The last instance Nvidia surpassed Amazon in value dates back to 2002 when both companies were valued at under $6 billion.
In another development, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently surpassed Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to claim the title of the world’s most valuable company. Among the world’s most valuable publicly-listed companies, Microsoft and Apple are followed by state oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), Alphabet, and Amazon.
While Saudi Aramco boasts a $2 trillion market capitalization, making it the world’s third most valuable publicly listed company, the vast majority of the company is government-owned, with only a small fraction available for trading by investors.
Featured Image: Freepik
Author Faith Yakubu 
