Quick Read
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Apple (AAPL) hit $5 trillion and passed Nvidia (NVDA) by about $615 billion after Nvidia plunged 9% on fears of tougher Democratic AI regulation.
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Nvidia's Data Center unit generated $89 billion of its $96 billion quarterly revenue, so any curbs on AI buildout spending hit it hardest.
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Nvidia now trades at 15 times forward earnings despite 106% revenue growth, while Apple's guidance shows slower but simpler growth.
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Two sessions after Election Day, the world's most valuable company is the one least exposed to Washington's next fight over artificial intelligence. Thursday's close of $344.17 on 14.53 billion shares valued Apple( NASDAQ:AAPL ) at $5.00 trillion. Shares of Nvidia( NASDAQ:NVDA ) fell 9.26% to $181.60, leaving it worth $4.39 trillion and putting Apple ahead by about $615 billion.
A Democratic Congress Hits Chips Harder Than iPhones
Both companies just posted strong quarters, so most of the gap reflects how investors are pricing policy risk. The selloff came from fears that Democrats' control of Congress will bring tougher AI regulation and slow the data-center buildout. The Nasdaq fell 5.52%, and the PHLX Semiconductor Index fell more than 12%.
Nvidia takes the most direct hit from that risk because Data Center produced $89.02 billion of its $96.22 billion in fiscal second-quarter revenue. That spending comes from a small group of hyperscalers, AI labs and cloud operators, and the suppliers downstream of them (power, cooling, networking) are a story we pulled together in a free report on seven companies powering the AI buildout.
Apple's iPhone revenue rose 17% to a September-quarter record of $57.6 billion, and Services reached an all-time high of $31.6 billion. New AI rules from Congress are unlikely to touch either revenue stream.
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Nvidia Now Carries the Cheaper Multiple
After the drop, Nvidia trades at 15x forward earnings and 23x trailing earnings. Such a valuation looks low for a business whose revenue rose 105.8% last quarter and that guided to $108.0 billion for the current one.
The discount reflects real risks: Nvidia's outlook assumes no China data center computing revenue, and the company has $279 billion in supply commitments. Days sales outstanding have also extended to 60 days from 45.
Apple's outlook is slower but less complicated. Management expects December-quarter revenue to rise 7% to 10% and called it "the best quarter for revenue in the history of the company."
Why a Cash-Rich Apple Is Borrowing Again
Apple went to the bond market Thursday with a seven-part offering of about $7.5 billion. It is the first since a $4.5 billion deal in May 2025.
Apple held $137 billion in cash and securities against $80 billion of debt, and it returned $28 billion to shareholders last quarter. Management has dropped its net cash-neutral target, so new debt helps keep buybacks going as AI spending rises.
How Apple and Nvidia Valuations Compare After the Selloff
Apple looks more fully valued than Nvidia at this level. Apple shares are up 26.95% this year while Nvidia is down 2.4%, so the price already reflects much of Apple's safety.
Apple's margins are also heading lower. It guided December-quarter gross margin to 45% to 46%, below the 47.9% it just posted, and cited memory pricing it called "unprecedented" along with the costs of scaling up Siri AI.
Nvidia's next report, expected November 17, comes first. After hours, the gap had already narrowed to about $550 billion, which shows how quickly it can shrink. That view would likely change if Congress moves quickly on rules that cut hyperscaler spending, because that would justify Nvidia's low multiple.
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