The "Golden Age" of Tech Giants: Microsoft and Apple Break Through $4 Trillion, NVIDIA Approaches $5 Trillion

Driven by the dual forces of the artificial intelligence wave and strong consumer demand, U.S. tech giants have entered a "golden age," with Microsoft and Apple both surpassing a market capitalization of $4 trillion, while chip giant NVIDIA is steadily moving towards the $5 trillion milestone.

On Tuesday, October 28, Eastern Time, Apple's stock price rose slightly, briefly surpassing a market capitalization of $4 trillion during the trading session, before closing back down to $3.99 trillion, making it the third company to reach this milestone after NVIDIA and Microsoft. This is Apple's first time breaking the $4 trillion mark.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's stock price rose by 2%, with its market capitalization firmly standing at $4.03 trillion. The direct catalyst for this growth was a significant restructuring agreement reached by OpenAI, which caused the value of its holdings in OpenAI to soar. According to the Financial Times, OpenAI's restructuring has raised its valuation to $500 billion, with Microsoft holding a 27% stake, corresponding to a value of approximately $135 billion.

As the biggest beneficiary of the AI boom, NVIDIA's growth momentum is even more rapid. After announcing a series of new deals, its stock price rose by 5% on Tuesday, with its market capitalization briefly surpassing $4.9 trillion, closing that day at $4.88 trillion.

The market capitalization frenzy among U.S. tech giants is occurring just as earnings reports are about to be released. This week, among the "Tech Seven," Microsoft, Google, Meta, Apple, and Amazon will be releasing their earnings reports in quick succession.

Microsoft: OpenAI Restructuring Boosts, AI Commercialization Enters Fast Lane

The renewed surge in Microsoft's market capitalization is primarily driven by its deep investments and commercialization in the field of artificial intelligence. The recently reached OpenAI restructuring agreement is a key step in pushing its stock price past the $4 trillion mark.

According to the agreement, OpenAI has completed a long-awaited restructuring, establishing a for-profit entity called "OpenAI Group," paving the way for a potential IPO in the future. As the largest single shareholder of OpenAI, Microsoft holds a 27% stake in the new entity.

This arrangement not only allows Microsoft to achieve nearly ten times the book return on its cumulative investment of $13.75 billion since 2019, but more importantly, it ensures that Microsoft can continue to access OpenAI's cutting-edge technology in the future.

Although under the new agreement, Microsoft has given up its rights as OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider, media reports citing a person familiar with Microsoft's position stated that the company "negotiated an excellent deal for shareholders," creating significant investment value while providing key assurances for future partnerships. **

The agreement stipulates that Microsoft will have the right to use OpenAI's models until 2032, and OpenAI has committed to investing $250 billion in Microsoft's Azure cloud services. This solidifies Azure's position as the preferred platform for AI development, continuously bringing strong cloud service revenue to Microsoft.

Apple: New iPhone Sales Surge, Turning Market Expectations

Unlike Microsoft and NVIDIA, which rely on AI narratives, Apple's market value has surpassed $4 trillion, largely due to its strong hardware ecosystem and unexpected consumer demand.

According to a report by Counterpoint Research, the latest iPhone 17 series saw a 14% year-on-year increase in sales during its first 10 days in the U.S. and China. Analysts at Evercore ISI also noted in a report on Monday, "Our survey indicates that this may not just be an ordinary iPhone update cycle," pointing out that the delivery time for the base model iPhone 17 exceeded last year's levels. Additionally, the new ultra-thin iPhone Air sold out within minutes of its launch in the Chinese market.

The strong sales performance has reversed the previously pessimistic sentiment of some Wall Street analysts towards Apple.

Due to its relatively lagging progress in the AI field compared to competitors, Apple's stock performance in 2025 was once below that of other tech giants. However, in recent months, several analysts have upgraded Apple's stock ratings. At the same time, some external factors have also benefited Apple, such as a federal judge ruling that Google can continue to pay Apple billions of dollars to remain the default search engine on the iPhone, and during President Trump's trade war, most Apple products were exempt from tariffs.

NVIDIA: Frequent Deals, Approaching $5 Trillion Market Value

As the "arms dealer" of this round of AI revolution, NVIDIA is making unstoppable strides towards a $5 trillion market value. The continuous rise in its stock price is attributed to a series of newly announced major collaborations.

According to The Wall Street Journal, NVIDIA announced a partnership with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to create the most powerful supercomputer in the pharmaceutical industry to accelerate new drug discovery. Additionally, CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a new technology called NVQLink at a global technology conference in Washington, likening it to the "Rosetta Stone" connecting quantum computers and classical supercomputers.

At the same time, NVIDIA also announced a $1 billion investment in telecommunications company Nokia for collaboration in the AI field, which will give it a 2.9% stake in Nokia after the deal is completed.

These intensive deal announcements further solidify NVIDIA's absolute dominance in the AI infrastructure sector and continue to expand the application boundaries of its technology.

NVIDIA has risen 50% so far in 2025, far exceeding Apple's 7.5%, Alphabet's 42%, and Meta's 28%. The S&P 500 index has risen 18% during the same period