By Nate Wolf
So long, Apple. There's a new No. 2 in the market-capitalization rankings.
Alphabet was set to surpass Apple in market cap on Wednesday, making the Google parent the world's second-largest U.S. company behind only Nvidia.
Alphabet shares were up 1.6% in midday trading, giving it a market value of $3.864 trillion. Apple dipped 0.3%, reducing its market cap to $3.861 trillion.
Wednesday marked the first time Alphabet had a greater market value than Apple since Jan. 29, 2019, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It also was the first time since Feb. 26, 2018 -- long before Nvidia's meteoric rise -- that Alphabet was the second-largest U.S. company by market cap.
Alphabet shares rose 66% in 2025, buoyed by excitement around artificial intelligence, including the company's own Gemini AI model, and a less severe federal antitrust ruling against Google than some observers feared. Apple stock rose 9% last year.
Alphabet, which was a Barron's stock pick in November 2024, surpasses Apple less than two months after overtaking Microsoft for a spot on the market-cap podium.
Catching up with Nvidia will be a taller task. The chip maker closed Tuesday with a market cap of $4.55 trillion, about 18% above that of Alphabet.
Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 07, 2026 12:09 ET (17:09 GMT)
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