Nvidia shares achieved a milestone high on Friday for the first occasion since October, elevating the company’s market capitalization over $5 trillion, as investors rushed into the AI chip sector ahead of next week’s earnings reports from tech giants.
The stock increased by 4.3% to settle at $208.27. Nvidia has surged more than 14 times since late 2022, fueled by a significant rise in demand for artificial intelligence services and models. Nvidia’s graphics processing units are utilized by Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon as well as model creators OpenAI and Anthropic.
The surge on Friday was triggered by better-than-expected earnings released late Thursday by chipmaker Intel, which has mostly been absent from the AI market until recently. Intel shares surged 24%, marking their highest performance since 1987.
Advanced Micro Devices, which rivals Nvidia and Intel, saw a 14% increase, while mobile device chip manufacturer Qualcomm rose 11%.
Investors had been retreating from large-cap technology stocks as oil prices soared due to the conflict in Iran and ensuing supply chain issues. However, various segments of technology have regained favor recently, with the demand for AI infrastructure continuing to grow.
The Nasdaq has gained 15% in April, on track for its most successful month since April 2020.
Nvidia does encounter escalating competition in AI. Alphabet, a key Nvidia client, unveiled new chips designed to compete with Nvidia’s products when they launch for cloud customers later this year.
