After a 3.5% surge in its shares NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) returned to being the world’s most valuable company last night at a market valuation of $3.3 trillion.
In its remarkable ascent, the chipmaker went from being the 18th largest company in the S&P 500 in October 2022, worth less than $300 billion to first reach $1 trillion in May 2023.
Nvidia reached a $2 trillion valuation in February this year and has added more than $2.1 trillion market cap since the start of the year, accounting for 35% of the S&P 500 gains in the year to date.
"I don't think there has been a example anywhere in history of the largest company in the world growing so quickly," said Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid.
How much further can the stock go, wondered Katheleen Brooks, research director at XTB, who noted that there are arguments that the graphics processing units (GPUs) where Nvidia possesses a 98% market share are "only getting going, and demand for them will continue to surge throughout this decade".
"This can be an exceptionally volatile stock, and much more volatile than the overall market," Brooks said.
"However, the volatility in the past 12 months has mostly been to the upside. Momentum is also helping Nvidia and other tech stocks to drive the S&P 500 to multiple record highs this year."
"While momentum is great until it is not, it is also worth noting the financial fundamentals at Nvidia could also drive its stock price higher. The company has a valuation of $3.3 trillion, and a debt load of $11bn, which means there is ample room for chunky shareholder returns in the future, which may also attract more people to the stock."