Key insights
- Major technology companies, particularly those involved in AI and chip manufacturing like Apple, Nvidia, and Micron, saw significant market value increases in May driven by strong earnings outlooks and AI chip demand. Apple's buyback and strong product demand, coupled with Micron's sold-out HBM chips and Nvidia's positive revenue forecast, fueled this rally. While Alphabet, JPMorgan, and Walmart experienced declines, the overall tech sector strength suggests continued investor confidence in AI-driven growth, positively impacting the US equity market.
June 2 (Reuters) - The world’s most valuable technology companies with the exception of Alphabet added billions of dollars in market value in May, as upbeat earnings outlooks and strong demand for AI chips fuelled a rally in their shares.
Apple, memory chipmakers Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the gains, adding $598 billion, $512 billion, $481 billion and $377 billion, respectively, in market value. Their valuations rose to $4.58 trillion, $1.09 trillion, $1.10 trillion and $1.34 trillion, respectively.
In late April, Apple pointed to strong demand for its flagship iPhone 17 and MacBook Neo and announced a fresh $100 billion share buyback.
Samsung reported an eightfold jump in first-quarter operating profit in April, while Micron drew analyst upgrades after saying its 2026 high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips were already sold out and next-generation HBM4 products were in production.
Microsoft and Nvidia also gained, with their market values rising by $315 billion and $276 billion, respectively, to $3.35 trillion and $5.11 trillion.
Nvidia forecast second-quarter revenue above expectations in May and announced an $80 billion share repurchase programme.
Bucking the trend, Alphabet’s market value dropped $59.77 billion to $4.59 trillion.
In the world’s 20 most valuable companies including other sectors, banking group JPMorgan Chase and retailing giant Walmart saw the biggest falls in market capitalisation in May, by $130.47 billion and $37.3 billion, respectively, to $921 billion and $802 billion.
Most traders can read a chart. The hard part is the moment: entry window open, pattern forming, and you're still waiting for more confirmation. That's the conviction gap — and our chart analysis closes it. Unlike other AIs that just read data, our Vision AI literally "sees" your charts and hands you a complete trading plan: entry, stop-loss, and profit target in under 60 seconds. Know exactly what to do next, every time.