AI Boom Drives Chip Stocks Even Higher After Nvidia Overtakes Microsoft As World’s Most Valuable Company
Topline
Chip stocks jumped in out-of-hours trading on Wednesday as chipmaking giant Nvidia continued Tuesday’s market rally that saw it dethrone Microsoft as the world’s most valuable public company and boost CEO Jensen Huang’s net worth.
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang’s net worth has soared alongside the company’s market capitalization.
Key Facts
Nvidia shares were up around 0.6% to more than $136 during out of hours trading Wednesday morning, when key U.S. markets are closed to observe Juneteenth.
The bump comes after Nvidia stock reached an all time high Tuesday, trading up at $135.58 on market close, a jump of more than 3.5%.
Shares for other chip stocks also rose overnight alongside Nvidia’s rally, predominantly in Asia, where some of the world’s largest tech manufacturers are based, including some of Nvidia’s biggest competitors.
Shares of chip rivals like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, TSMC, another big beneficiary of the AI boom, surged more than 4% by market close in Taipei, with Hong Kong-listed Chinese manufacturers Hua Hong Semiconductor and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp also climbing by 0.4% and 1%.
South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix respectively jumped by as much as 3% and 7% during trading hours, though gains atrophied as the day progressed and they were respectively 1.75% up and 0.43% down by market close in Seoul.
Shares for U.S. chipmaking giants remained largely flat during out of hours trading Wednesday, with Arm Holdings (ARM) and Micron Technology (MU), which climbed nearly 9% and 4% on Tuesday, up by a modest 0.34% and 0.81%, respectively and Intel, which was down more than 1% Tuesday, relatively unmoved.
Tangent
Shares for Hon Hai Technology Group, more widely known as Foxconn, also jumped following the Nvidia rally. The Taipei-listed stock closed more than 2% higher at market close on Wednesday. The Taiwanese giant has partnered with Nvidia to build a specialized set of AI data centers using the U.S. behemoth’s chips to develop a variety of AI applications including robotics platforms, electric vehicles and large language models (LLMs).
How Fast Has Nvidia Grown From A Gaming Chipmaker To An Ai Giant?
Nvidia on Tuesday claimed the title of the world’s most valuable public company, overtaking tech giant Microsoft just weeks after it snatched second place from iPhone maker Apple. The achievement caps Nvidia’s rise from a respected maker of video game hardware to the purveyor of one of tech’s hottest commodities: specialized AI chips. The pivot has seen Nvidia dramatically transform its fortunes in a matter of years, growing from a market capitalization of around $16 billion in 2016 to just under $800 billion towards the end of 2021 before dropping to around $300 billion in 2022 amid poor demand for gaming chips and a wider rout on U.S. stock markets. The boom in generative artificial intelligence, kickstarted by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, has helped propel Nvidia to new heights as demand for its specialized AI chips soared. Since then, the company’s value has multiplied from around $400 billion in late 2022 to $1 trillion by mid 2023, $2 trillion by early 2024 and $3 trillion by the middle of 2024 on a near vertical climb. Nvidia shares are up more than 170% this year alone and its stratospheric growth shows little sign of stopping as tech firms duel it out to dominate the nascent market for AI.
Forbes Valuation
The AI boom has not only catapulted Nvidia into a rare position of wealth and power. CEO Jensen Huang, who cofounded the chipmaker in 1993, has also seen his wealth grow astronomically in recent years. After the recent bump in Nvidia stock, Forbes estimates Huang is worth $118.7 billion, up $4 billion on Tuesday alone. He is now the 11th richest person in the world, ahead of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and approximately $12 billion away from entering Forbes’ ranking of the world’s top ten richest people. He trails Microsoft billionaires Steve Balmer, who owns the Los Angeles Clippers, and Bill Gates, respectively worth $130.6 billion and $133.5 billion.
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