APPLE REACHES $5 TRILLION MARKET CAPITALISATION

Apple briefly achieved a market capitalisation of $5 trillion on Tuesday, becoming only the second publicly traded company to reach that valuation. The milestone occurred a day after Apple surpassed Nvidia to become the most valuable publicly traded company. Apple shares reached a high of $342.89 during the session before declining slightly. The company reports quarterly financial results on Thursday.

Apple's stock has increased 25 per cent this year, outperforming other large-capitalisation peers. The gain reflects a shift in investor sentiment away from technology companies undertaking substantial capital expenditure on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Apple has maintained relatively low capital spending and relies on cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence technology licensed from Google. Nvidia, which holds graphics processing units used to power major artificial intelligence models, became the first company to reach $5 trillion in October but has gained only 6 per cent this year.

The fluctuating valuations between Apple and Nvidia reflect a broader debate among investors about the future direction of artificial intelligence development. Technology companies including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are collectively investing hundreds of billions of dollars in capital expenditure for artificial intelligence buildouts this year. Some investors have expressed concern that these aggressive spending programmes are generating substantial debt and negative cash flow without demonstrated paths to significant returns.