Nvidia outstrips Alphabet as third largest US company by market value

NVIDIA overtook Google-parent Alphabet’s stock market capitalisation to become the third biggest US company on Wednesday (Feb 14), days before the poster child of AI boom is due to report fourth-quarter results.

Strong demand for the Silicon Valley company’s chips used in artificial intelligence computing has powered the stock 231 per cent in the past 12 months to record highs, taking its market value to US$1.812 trillion.

With a 50 per cent surge lifting Nvidia to the top spot among the S&P 500 components stock performance this year, the company has joined the league of Magnificent Seven stocks, surpassing retail giant Amazon.com earlier this month.

Wall Street expects Nvidia to post US$11.38 billion in fourth-quarter profit, up more than a staggering 400 per cent from a year ago. Its revenue is expected to surge more than three-fold to US$20.37 billion.

Nvidia now trades 33.19 times its forward earnings estimates, above the industry median multiple of 27.35, per LSEG data.

A higher multiple indicates the stock is more likely to have priced in its earnings potential, leaving little room for further growth. REUTERS