Chipmaker Nvidia overtakes Apple as world's highest valued company

Nvidia, the artificial intelligence (AI) behemoth, surged past iPhone maker Apple last year to become the world's most valuable listed company with more than $4.5 trillion in assets, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Apple's valuation stood at around $4 trillion, the consulting firm EY reported in a report made available to dpa.

Nvidia's valuation is nearly twice as much as all 40 companies in Germany's top DAX stock market index combined. They amounted to $2.5 trillion at the end of last year, the study said.

Nvidia's chip systems have become a key technology for software using AI, and the hyped company is considered a barometer for the industry.

US tech giants dominated the top rankings with third place going to Google's parent company Alphabet with a market capitalization of just under $3.8 trillion, ahead of Microsoft and Amazon.

US unchallenged, German companies left behind

"The year 2025 was dominated by artificial intelligence on the world's stock markets," Henrik Ahlers, chairman of EY's management board, said.

"The euphoria surrounding new AI applications and business models has led to strong price gains worldwide. But the beneficiaries are mainly in the US and Asia."

US companies continue to dominate the stock markets, with 60 of the 100 most valuable companies in the world based in the United States. Eight US companies are among the top 10. The two non-US firms are the oil company Saudi Aramco in 8th place and the Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC, which ranked 10th.

German companies insignificant

Only three German companies made it into the top 100: the software group SAP ranked 45th with a market capitalization of $285 billion, lower than its 32nd place in 2024.

Siemens ranked 73rd with a market capitalization of $218 billion and Allianz ranked 98th with $174 billion.

Like France, Switzerland also has three companies in the top 100: Roche, Novartis and Nestlé. Another DAX-listed company, the Franco-German aircraft manufacturer Airbus, ranked 89th.

In the AI race, Europe plays a minor role

Europe is only playing a minor role in the AI race on the stock markets, EY manager Ahlers said. Once again, there is a risk of falling behind in a key technology. The dominance of US tech companies is also geopolitically worrying, as the AI boom is leading to new dependencies.

The stock market ranking also reflects the upheaval in traditional European industries. Before the 2007 financial crisis, 46 of the 100 most valuable companies came from Europe; today, there are only 17.

Tesla far ahead of Mercedes, BMW and VW

The crisis in the automotive industry demonstrates how far German companies have fallen behind. At the end of 2023, German car companies were among the 300 top companies worldwide based on market capitalization. Now none of them are in that ranking.

At the end of last year, the world's most valuable car manufacturer was Tesla, which ranked ninth with a market capitalization of $1.5 trillion. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and VW together account for $197 billion and occupy 327th, 329th and 364th place.

Nevertheless, two German companies saw significant growth in 2025. The defence contractor Rheinmetall tripled its market capitalization to $84 billion and ranked 252nd, while Siemens Energy jumped to 167th place.