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Breakfast News: Nvidia Leapfrogs Apple
Breakfast News: Nvidia Leapfrogs Apple
January 23, 2025
| Wednesday's Markets | |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 6,086 (+0.61%) |
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| Nasdaq 20,009 (+1.28%) |
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| Dow 44,157 (+0.30%) |
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| Bitcoin $103,912 (-2.78%) |
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Source: Image created by JesterAI.
1. Market Cap Dogfight
After jumping 6.75% this week, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) took the baton from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) as the world's most valuable company, with a market cap of $3.60 trillion. The switch comes partly fueled by the positive news out around the Stargate project.
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- Presidential support for AI initiatives: Nvidia has been named as a tech partner for the $500 billion U.S. AI infrastructure fund. Investors see this as somewhat future-proofing growth for the coming few years.
- The tortoise and the hare: Apple holds the crown for being the first company to hit market cap milestones of $1 trillion, $2 trillion, and $3 trillion. However, its business hasn't quite managed to benefit from the AI boom to the same level as Nvidia over the past year.
2. Crypto Bosses See New Dawn
The launch of a new crypto task force by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been hailed as the dawn of a new day by crypto bosses including Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong. Other leaders at Davos echoed the comments of seeing a clearer path.
- "The industry is just ready for this new change": Armstrong said the main priority for crypto companies is to work to get legislation passed in the U.S. Should Federal rules get signed off, it would speed up more widespread adoption of related products.
- "It would be prudent for central banks to hold some reserves in something like Bitcoin": Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, sees the potential for a U.S. strategic Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) reserve, a concept that Binance CEO Richard Teng also agreed with.
3. Huge Nuclear Project Lifts Sector
Nuclear stocks extended recent gains thanks to news of the South Carolina state utility provider looking to restart construction of a pair of nuclear reactors. The sector is emerging as the leader in the global energy transformation.
- AI demand driving market: Billions have already been spent by Santee Cooper on the project, which was halted back in 2017. Yet interest is expected to be strong, with the WSJ reporting both Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are in need of more clean energy to fuel data centers.
- Outperforming the broader market: The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NYSEMKT: NLR) is up almost 15% in the past month, versus the 2.81% gain from the S&P 500. Uranium stocks rallied following President Trump's threat of tariffs on Canada, the largest supplier of uranium to the U.S.
4. Next Up: Intuitive Surgical in Focus
Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) will release Q4 and full-year earnings after the market closes. Pre-released preliminary data already indicates a strong set of results.
- Record system placements: The company placed 493 da Vinci systems in Q4 2024, up significantly from 379 in Q3 2024. Investors will be focused on commentary around what drove this growth, and any changes in outlook for the coming year. With non-U.S. growth picking up pace, information around spending plans in Europe will be monitored.
- A seven-time Rule Breakers recommendation: Since the first rec back in March 2005, Intuitive Surgical has beaten the S&P 500 by 11,559%!
5. Foolish Fun
Amazon ($2.47 trillion) and Alphabet ($2.43 trillion) are neck and neck to become the next company to reach a $3 trillion market cap, joining Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft in achieving that milestone. But which of the two will get there first – and, importantly, why? Debate with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!
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*Stock Advisor returns as of January 21, 2025
Image from JesterAI. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Bitcoin, Coinbase Global, Intuitive Surgical, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
