A significant power shift has occurred in the tech market as apple stock price today nasdaq reflects a new reality: Alphabet has officially overtaken Apple as the world’s second-most valuable company. The Google parent company closed Wednesday’s trading session with an impressive market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, surpassing Apple’s $3.85 trillion. Alphabet further cemented this lead on Thursday, with its market cap reaching $3.94 trillion while Apple’s settled at $3.84 trillion.

Meanwhile, this remarkable achievement comes after Alphabet shares rose more than 2% on Wednesday, closing at $322.03. We’ve observed that Alphabet was the top-performing ‘Magnificent Seven’ Big Tech stock in 2025, recording a substantial 65% gain. This represents Alphabet’s sharpest rally since 2009. Although the price of nvidia stock has also performed well with a 39% surge, Alphabet’s exceptional growth has been the standout story in the tech sector. Unfortunately for Apple, its shares have declined more than 4% over the last five days, contributing to this significant market cap reversal.

Alphabet surpasses Apple in $4T market cap milestone

_{Image Source: Evan Shapiro | Substack}

In a historic milestone, Alphabet officially entered the exclusive $4 trillion market cap club on Monday, January 12, 2026, becoming only the fourth company to achieve this remarkable valuation. The Google parent reached this threshold after its shares rose 1% following Apple’s announcement that it would use Google’s Gemini for the foundation of its artificial intelligence models. The stock closed at $331.86, pushing Alphabet just over the $4 trillion mark.

This achievement comes shortly after Alphabet surpassed Apple in market capitalization for the first time since 2019. Notably, Alphabet has joined an elite group that previously welcomed only Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple to the $4 trillion valuation club. Both Nvidia and Microsoft first crossed this threshold in July 2025, with Apple following in October.

Importantly, Alphabet’s ascension represents a fundamental shift in investor sentiment regarding the companies’ respective artificial intelligence strategies. Consequently, the apple stock price today nasdaq reflects these changing perceptions, with Apple sliding nearly 5% over a six-day period, erasing almost $200 billion in market value.

The price of nvidia stock has remained strong throughout this period, as Nvidia became the first company to reach the $5 trillion milestone. Alphabet’s remarkable 65% stock surge in 2025 outperformed all other members of Wall Street’s elite “Magnificent Seven” stocks, demonstrating investor confidence in Google’s aggressive AI implementation across its product ecosystem.

Google’s AI strategy drives investor confidence

Google’s aggressive artificial intelligence implementation across its product ecosystem stands as the primary driver behind Alphabet’s remarkable market surge. Investors have responded enthusiastically to the company’s comprehensive AI integration, particularly through its flagship Gemini model, which now powers key products including Search, Gmail, and Google Cloud.

Financial analysts point to Google’s strategic decision to invest over $100 billion in AI development since 2024 as a pivotal factor in establishing market dominance. Additionally, the company’s AI-powered advertising tools have generated a 23% year-over-year increase in ad revenue during Q4 2025.

Morgan Stanley analysts specifically highlighted that “Google’s ability to monetize AI through its core advertising business gives it a significant competitive advantage over Apple,” in their January 2026 investor note. Moreover, the partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT capabilities into Android has attracted developer enthusiasm and further strengthened Google’s ecosystem.

The company’s AI-first approach has triggered a notable shift in investor sentiment when comparing apple stock price today nasdaq performance against Google’s trajectory. Indeed, while the price of nvidia stock continues its strong performance as the hardware backbone of AI infrastructure, Google has positioned itself as the primary software beneficiary in this technological revolution.

Alphabet’s cloud division has emerged as another bright spot, with Google Cloud revenue growing 37% year-over-year, outpacing both Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS for the third consecutive quarter.

Apple struggles to keep pace in AI race

Unlike its competitors, Apple faces a significant uphill battle in the AI arena. The company has stumbled repeatedly with its Apple Intelligence platform, forcing it to postpone its promised Siri overhaul by approximately 18 months. This delay occurred despite Apple running advertisements for the product.

Internal reports revealed the upgraded Siri only functioned correctly 66-80% of the time in testing. Compounding these challenges, Apple has experienced an unprecedented exodus of AI talent. Ruoming Pang, head of AI foundation models, departed for Meta in July, taking approximately 100 engineers with him.

Facing mounting pressure, Apple announced in January 2026 a multi-year collaboration with Google, selecting Gemini to power its next-generation Siri. This partnership represents a significant departure from Apple’s traditional approach of controlling every layer of its technology.

The repercussions have been swift on Wall Street. The apple stock price today nasdaq has declined 5% year-to-date in 2026, with seven of nearly 50 analysts downgrading the stock since January. Jefferies recently downgraded Apple to Underperform from Hold.

Unfortunately for Apple, this stands in stark contrast to Nvidia, whose price of nvidia stock continues climbing as the hardware foundation of AI infrastructure, and Google, whose Gemini has successfully positioned Alphabet as a premier AI software provider.

Conclusion

Alphabet’s ascension past Apple signifies a major shift in the tech industry landscape. Therefore, we see not merely a numerical milestone but a fundamental reordering of power dynamics among tech giants. Google’s strategic AI investments, particularly its flagship Gemini model, have clearly paid off, driving the company’s remarkable 65% stock growth throughout 2025.

Meanwhile, Apple continues wrestling with significant AI development challenges. The company’s decision to partner with Google for its next-generation Siri undoubtedly represents a dramatic departure from its traditional self-reliant approach. This strategic pivot, though necessary, has consequently damaged investor confidence as reflected in the stock’s downward trajectory.

Equally important, this market capitalization leapfrog demonstrates how rapidly fortunes can change in the tech sector. Though Apple held its position for years, Google’s focused AI strategy eventually tipped the scales. Similarly, Nvidia’s continued dominance in the hardware space complements Google’s software prowess, creating a new AI-centered market hierarchy.

Last but not least, this development raises significant questions about the future competitive landscape. Will Apple recover its position through renewed innovation? Can Alphabet maintain its momentum and challenge Microsoft for the top spot? The answers will certainly shape technology investment strategies throughout 2026 and beyond.