Key Takeaways

• Nvidia shares rose Tuesday, pushing the chipmaker back into the top spot on the list of the world's most valuable companies by market capitalization, ahead of Apple.

• Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft have battled for the title this year as the only three companies with a market capitalization over $3 trillion.

• Demand for Nvidia's chips to power artificial intelligence technology has surged, sending Nvidia's revenue and stock price to record highs this year.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares rose Tuesday, pushing the chipmaker back into the top spot on the list of the world's most valuable companies by market capitalization, ahead of Apple (AAPL).

Nvidia shares were up 2.4% in intraday trading Tuesday, lifting the chipmaker's market cap to about $3.44 trillion, with Apple trailing at $3.37 trillion as its shares edged 0.6% higher.

Nvidia's latest move to reclaim the title of word's most valuable company comes after the chipmaker briefly overtook Apple Monday. Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft (MSFT) have battled for the title this year as the only three companies with a market caps over $3 trillion. Microsoft shares were up about 1.5% Tuesday, giving the company a market cap of about $3.08 trillion.

Nvidia shares have more than doubled in value since the start of the year as big tech customers like Meta (META) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) ramp up spending on chips to power their artificial intelligence (AI) products, driving Nvidia's revenue and stock price to record levels.

William Blair analysts on Monday raised their revenue and profit estimates for Nvidia over the next two fiscal years, citing comments from recent earnings calls as tech executives said they expect to continue increasing spending on AI infrastructure over the next year.