Nvidia nudges near Apple's market capitalization after a $470 billion post-earnings rally

Shares of Nvidia have already more than doubled in 2024, adding to last year’s rise of almost 240%.

A three-day rally in Nvidia shares has bumped up the share price by 20 percent and market capitalization of the chipmaker by as much as $470 billion, placing it less than two percent away from the second largest listed company.

As of Tuesday close, Nvidia's market capitalization stands at $2.85 trillion, just behind Apple Inc - world's second largest company - at $2.93 trillion mcap.

Shares of Nvidia have already more than doubled in 2024, adding to last year’s rise of almost 240%. Analysts bet the growth in data center business is what could drive further investment into Nvidia, potentially paving the way for further upside.

Dan Ives, MD at Wedbush and a tech analyst told CNBC International this week, "“I think in the next 12-18 months, the most valuable tech company in the world could be Nvidia." On Nvidia closing in on Apple's market capitalisaton, Dan said it looks like a race to $4 trillion. "Cupertino and Microsoft (are) battling the Godfather of AI Jensen and Nvidia in the battle for $4 trillion over the coming year," Dan added.

Stephen Yiu, CIO, Blue Whale Growth Fund told Morningstar in a podcast soon after results on May 23 that he believes over 3-5 years, Nvidia would create more wealth for investors. "Nvidia will become the biggest company in the world, surpassing Apple and Microsoft, which is not a long way to go," Yiu added.

The news of Elon Musk's xAI raising $6 billion from investors helped the sentiment for Nvidia, as it means more demand for the much coveted H100 processor that will be deployed in the xAI supercomputer.

Nvidia is also headed for a stock split, second such action in recent years after 4-for-1 split that was announced three years ago.