The valuation of semiconductor company NVIDIA Corporation ( NVDA ) has surged from $1 trillion in May 2023 to more than $3 trillion in June 2024.

As Nvidia ( NVDA ) cements its place in history as the most valuable company in the world as of June 18, here's a look at how the company stacks up against Apple ( AAPL ) for retail investors.

What Happened: Nvidia ( NVDA ) posted strong first-quarter financial results and guidance. A recent stock split has further fueled excitement around the company, making whole shares more accessible to a larger number of investors.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) had been nearing the market capitalizations of Apple Inc ( AAPL ) and Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) in recent months, and finally took over the title as the most valuable company in the world on Tuesday.

While the title may be fleeting or signify the start of a new era, the company's stock performance over the past year and five years has been remarkable.

Benzinga recently asked followers on social media platform X if they would rather invest in Apple ( AAPL ) or Nvidia ( NVDA ). The poll did not include a time horizon and was done to gauge overall interest in two of the largest companies in the world.

The results of the poll were:

40.5% Apple ( AAPL )

59.5% Nvidia ( NVDA )

Nvidia ( NVDA ) won the poll with nearly 60% of the vote, beating out Apple ( AAPL ), a company that has been one of the most valuable companies in the world for several years.

"NVDA. They are innovating at much faster pace than Apple ( AAPL ). Moreover, the AI hype so it's a millionaire maker," user @hataf_news replied to the poll.

While the stock performance of Apple ( AAPL ) has lagged Nvidia ( NVDA ) over the past year and five-year periods, many investors still favored the iPhone maker.

"Long term, if you have to go with Apple ( AAPL ) as competition came they have delivered," user @UltimateTrad8r replied to the poll.

It was recently announced that the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) will rebalance and make Nvidia ( NVDA ) the largest weighting at around 20% with Apple ( AAPL ) shares representing 4.5% of the fund.

Related Link: Nvidia Stock Split: What Investors Need To Know, What Past History Shows, What’s Next For Chip Giant

Why It's Important: The poll comes as artificial intelligence continues to be a key topic on the minds of analysts and investors, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) one of the top names in the sector.

Analysts are bullish on the future of Nvidia ( NVDA ) after the first-quarter financial results and guidance.

On Tuesday, Wells Fargo raised their price target on Nvidia ( NVDA ) from $125 to $155. Rosenblatt took their price target from $140 to $200.

Apple's ( AAPL ) recent Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event saw mixed reactions from analysts, with some believing the company failed to adequately highlight its AI developments and future plans.

The upcoming iPhone launches and integration of AI technology could be keys for Apple's ( AAPL ) future.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares have surged 209% over the past year and are up 174% year-to-date in 2024. Over the last five years, Nvidia’s stock has skyrocketed an astonishing 5,797%.

Apple ( AAPL ) shares are up 15% over the last year and up 11% year-to-date in 2024, trailing the performance of many technology stocks and broad market indexes. Apple ( AAPL ) stock is up 341% over the last five years.

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