How Nvidia dropped from the world's No. 1 most-valuable company to No. 3, behind Microsoft and Apple

Nvidia lost its position as the world's most valuable company on Friday, last week (June 22). The shares in chipmaker Nvidia tumbled over 6% in the past two trading days, shedding more than $200 billion in market value and relinquishing its crown as the world's most valuable company. According to the Bloomberg data, Nvidia's market cap sits at roughly $3.1 trillion, trailing behind Apple's $3.2 trillion and Microsoft's $3.3 trillion
What's behind Nvidia's $200 billion 'loss'
This sharp reversal follows an earlier surge that saw Nvidia overtake its megacap rivals.Analysts point to no specific negative news driving the selloff, but rather a correction following the stock's blistering year-long run, nearly tripling in price. This rapid ascent makes it susceptible to such sudden drops.
"It's just standard market fluctuations," told Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell to Bloomberg, "which can have a significant impact on valuations of large companies," he added. He, at the same time, emphasised that Nvidia's fundamentals remain strong.
While some short-term volatility was anticipated, Bank of America analysts led by Vivek Arya believe "any volatility is likely short-lived" despite acknowledging the stock's vulnerability to profit-taking. They maintain their buy rating, $150 price target, and top pick designation for Nvidia.
Bullish sentiment persists, with Melius Research analysts led by Ben Reitzes raising their price target to $160 from $125, marking their fifth increase this year. Reitzes argues that Nvidia is "better positioned than some SaaS 'leaders' who haven't proven AI's impact," suggesting Nvidia could capture a larger share of the enterprise software market.
The decline is reported to coincide with a broader market pullback coinciding with a "triple-witching session," where options and futures contracts expire simultaneously, along with index rebalancing by S&P Dow Jones Indices and related ETF adjustments. This confluence of events can trigger market turbulence, affecting individual stocks.