Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion.
After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record.
The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are projected to put about US$350 billion into capital expenditures in their upcoming fiscal years, up from US$310 billion in the current year, according to the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Those companies account for more than 40 percent of Nvidia’s revenue.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
A 67 percent gain from an April low has pushed Nvidia’s market capitalization to US$3.8 trillion, overtaking Microsoft at US$3.7 trillion to again become the world’s most valuable company. Nvidia shares rose 1.8 percent on Friday to close at another record high.
With a broadening customer base clamoring for Nvidia’s latest AI accelerators and competitors still distant, bulls are betting the chipmaker’s shares have plenty of room to run.
“We believe that Nvidia is truly uniquely positioned, and that it will sustain its position over the next decade-plus,” said Aziz Hamzaogullari, founder, chief investment officer and portfolio manager of the growth equity strategies team at Loomis, Sayles & Co.
Hamzaogullari is not alone. Loop Capital Markets LLC analyst Ananda Baruah raised Nvidia’s price target to US$250 from US$175, a level that would equate to about a US$6 trillion market value. Baruah, who has a buy rating on the stock, expects annual AI spending from various types of customers to rise to nearly US$2 trillion by 2028.
“While it may seem fantastic that Nvidia fundamentals can continue to amplify from current levels, we remind folks that Nvidia remains essentially a monopoly for critical tech, and that it has pricing (and margin) power,” Baruah wrote in a research note on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Nvidia insiders sold more than US$1 billion worth of company stock in the past year, with a notable uptick in recent trading activity as executives capitalize on surging investor interest in AI, the Financial Times reported yesterday.
More than US$500 million of the share sales took place this month as the California-based chip designer’s share price climbed to an all-time high, the report said.
Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) started selling shares this week for the first time since September last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s filing showed.
Additional reporting by Reuters
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s