Topline
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first company in history to be valued at $5 trillion, the latest milestone by the artificial intelligence giant as shares have grown exponentially over the last decade.
The company, worth $10 billion a decade ago, has reached record milestones driven by growing AI demand.
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Key Facts
Nvidia’s shares increased by 3.4% to around $207.85 as trading opened Wednesday, following an earlier surge in premarket, setting a new intraday high for the stock.
An uptick pushed Nvidia’s market capitalization from about $4.89 trillion to $5.06 trillion, becoming the first publicly traded firm ever to surpass a $5 trillion valuation.
Nvidia remains the world’s largest company, ranking ahead of Microsoft ($4 trillion) and Apple ($3.9 trillion), which crossed the $4 trillion threshold for the first time Tuesday, as well as Google parent Alphabet ($3.2 trillion), Amazon ($2.4 trillion) and Meta ($1.8 trillion).
Big Number
More than 44,000%. That’s how much Nvidia’s stock has climbed over the last decade, outpacing the Nasdaq (up 420%) and S&P 500 (263%) over the same period. A $1,000 investment in Nvidia when shares hit a low of $0.47 in February 2015 would now be worth $441,000.
Surprising Fact
Nvidia is worth more than Germany’s $4.6 trillion gross domestic product last year, which trailed China ($18 trillion) and the U.S. ($29.1 trillion) as the world’s largest economies.
Key Background
Nvidia, valued at just over $10 billion in 2015, quickly became the world’s most valuable company as demand for AI hardware and software has skyrocketed. Among Nvidia’s largest customers are OpenAI, Elon Musk’s Tesla and xAI, Meta, Amazon and Oracle, whose similar market rise has boosted the net worth of chairman Larry Ellison to challenge Musk as the world’s richest person. The latest surge in Nvidia’s stock followed CEO Jensen Huang’s announcement that the company expects $500 billion in AI chip orders, in addition to Nvidia’s plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. government. Nvidia also announced Tuesday it would take a $1 billion stake in Nokia, creating a new partnership with the networking firm to develop next-generation 6G technology.
Forbes Valuation
Huang, who holds roughly 3% equity in Nvidia, has a net worth estimated at $174.4 billion, ranking him the eighth-richest person in the world. His fortune has grown alongside Nvidia’s market surge, rising from $2.7 billion in 2017 to $21.1 billion in 2023 before hitting $77 billion last year.
