"Old Deng" makes a comeback! Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) briefly surpassed NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) to become the world's largest market value company.

Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) is taking a defensive approach in the AI wave, briefly reclaiming the title of the world's highest market value company with its light asset strategy and expectations for AI recovery. On Friday, NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) fell by about 2%, driven by the release of the new model Kimi K3 from the Chinese AI developer Yue Zhi An Mian, causing a general decline in tech stocks. Apple Inc.'s stock price remained almost flat, briefly surpassing NVIDIA Corporation in market value, reclaiming the title of the world's highest market value company after over a year. At the close, NVIDIA Corporation's market value was slightly ahead at $4.908 trillion, compared to Apple Inc.'s $4.902 trillion, with a very small difference between the two. This reversal reflects a deep-seated change in market sentiment - investors are starting to reassess the relative value of the "heavy investment" and "light asset" paths in the AI race, with Apple Inc. being seen as a safe haven for some investors in AI trading. Under pressure, NVIDIA Corporation, which operates on a non-burning money AI logic, Apple Inc. "lies to win." The direct trigger for this change in market value is the release of the Kimi K3 new model, which once again raised questions in the market about the high investment in AI infrastructure in Silicon Valley. As a core supplier of AI power, NVIDIA Corporation was hit first, with its stock price falling by about 2% in a single day. At the same time, Apple Inc. did not follow the general decline in tech stocks, with its market value approaching the $5 trillion mark. NVIDIA Corporation was the first to break through the $5 trillion mark in October last year, becoming the first company in history to achieve this milestone, while if Apple Inc. can hold its ground at this mark, it will become the second company in history to do so. Apple Inc.'s uniqueness in the AI race lies in its deliberate low capital expenditure strategy. According to analyses by HSBC analysts, only about 2.5% of Apple Inc.'s forecasted sales in 2026 will be spent on capital expenditures such as AI data centers, while this ratio for "super large-scale cloud providers" such as Meta, Alphabet Inc. Class C, Amazon.com, Inc., Microsoft Corporation is as high as 39%. This comparison makes Apple Inc. appear particularly "stable" in the current market environment. While competitors commit to investing billions in building chips and data centers, Apple Inc.'s restraint becomes a chip to attract funding. Multiple catalysts drive stock price rebound Since the end of June, Apple Inc.'s stock price has risen by about 20%, with multiple positives coming in succession. The redesigned Siri voice assistant was officially unveiled last month and received generally positive reviews in the market; signals from Chinese regulatory agencies indicate that Apple Inc.'s new AI system is expected to launch soon in the world's largest smartphone market, further boosting investor confidence. At the same time, Apple Inc. is negotiating with the Trump administration to allow it to purchase memory chips from Longsin Storage, a move that, if successful, will help alleviate the ongoing pressure of rising component costs. Apple Inc. has also launched a legal challenge against OpenAI, accusing its former employees of allegedly stealing trade secrets after jumping to ChatGPT's parent company, a move that has been positively interpreted on Wall Street. Wall Street upgrades ratings, bullish on AI product cycles On Friday, HSBC analysts upgraded Apple Inc. to a buy rating, becoming one of the few major banks on Wall Street that had not previously given a buy rating. In a research report, HSBC stated that Apple Inc. "has ample conditions to leverage the upcoming upgraded version of Apple Intelligence to leverage its huge installed base of 2.5 billion devices." HSBC also pointed out, "This AI boost comes at the right time, we believe Apple Inc. currently has one of the most innovative product pipelines in its history," and expects the first foldable iPhone to be released in September. However, Apple Inc. has not been without its setbacks. Last month, Apple Inc. announced price increases of up to 20% for iPad and Mac products, and warned of a "significant increase in memory and storage demand," causing the stock price to drop by the largest daily percentage since the tariff impact of Trump last year. However, with the emergence of multiple positives mentioned above, the stock price quickly stabilized and rebounded. This article is reprinted from "Wall Street View", edited by: Zhang Jinliang.