Nvidia Leapfrogs Microsoft Following Meteoric Rally: Can It Reach All-Time High?

Key Takeaways

• Nvidia’s share price has surged nearly 10% in the past week.
• Another 3.2% rise would boost the stock to a new all-time high.
• The chipmaker’s market capitalization has surpassed Microsoft’s for the second time.

Nvidia has seen a remarkable surge in its market capitalization in recent days, propelling it past Microsoft to become the second most valuable company in the world.

After Nvidia’s value rose nearly 10% over the past week, shares hit $134.69 on Wednesday, Oct. 9, as they close in on their all-time price of $136.33 recorded on June 18.

Nvidia Q3 Revenues Boosted by Blackwell Sales 

Against the backdrop of already bullish investor sentiment, Microsoft’s announcement on Tuesday that it has integrated Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell system into its AI data centers further boosted optimism about the chip makers’ revenues.

The news was widely interpreted to mean that Nvidia’s AI chip deliveries are moving ahead as planned, dispelling previous concerns over delayed shipments.

As market analyst Jose Najarro observed , the fact that Microsoft already has a Blackwell system up and running means Nvidia will likely post the first revenues from the new platform in its third quarter financial statement, earlier than some pundits had expected.

Alongside the positive Blackwell news, sales numbers reported by Nvidia supplier TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) on Wednesday propelled the latest rally even further.

TSMC Revenues Exceed Forecasts

With third-quarter revenues of $23.62 billion, TSMC easily beat forecasts to post its strongest sales on record. 

For comparison, in its most recent earnings call in July, TSMC forecast third-quarter revenues of between $22.4 billion to $23.2 billion.

Surpassing Microsoft’s Market Capitalization

With its recent stock market performance, Nvidia’s market cap stood at $3.235 trillion at the time of writing on Wednesday, surpassing Microsoft for the second time this year.

Back in June, Nvidia briefly became the most valuable company in the world when its market cap rose to $3.34 trillion when it reached a new all-time high.

Although it maintained the pole position for about a week, by the beginning of July, Nvidia’s rally lost momentum and Apple and Microsoft regained the top two spots.

Although a 3.2% rise will be enough for Nvidia’s stock price to reach a new all-time high, with Apple’s current market cap of $3.434 trillion, it will need to climb to nearly 6% to $138.2 per share to reclaim the top spot.