Wall Street’s growing optimism toward artificial intelligence has positioned Nvidia (NVDA) on the verge of surpassing Amazon (AMZN) in market capitalization for the first time in two decades. With a 40% surge in Nvidia shares in 2024, the company’s market cap reached $1.715 trillion, trailing Amazon’s by only about 3%. Furthermore, it is within 6% of Google-owner Alphabet’s $1.812 trillion value. Morgan Stanley’s positive report, raising the price target to $750 from $603, highlights the sustained surge in AI demand as a key driver for Nvidia, which has become the U.S. stock market’s fifth most valuable company after its exceptional performance in 2023.
Nvidia’s prominence as an early leader in the AI race has made it a major beneficiary of technology companies’ rush to incorporate AI into their products and services. This includes substantial investments from Meta Platforms and other Big Tech firms in Nvidia’s graphics processors. The last time Nvidia exceeded Amazon in valuation was in 2002 when both companies were valued at under $6 billion. The upcoming quarterly results announcement on February 21 is awaited with anticipation, as it may provide further insights into Nvidia’s sustained growth and its impact on the AI-driven market.