Written by Yang Jianyong

The Nasdaq index continues to hit new record highs. Among them, technology giants led by Microsoft, Apple, and NVIDIA have performed the most impressively, with their market values entering the 3 trillion US dollar club. Their market values are 3.28 trillion US dollars, 3.27 trillion US dollars, and 3.08 trillion US dollars, respectively. The cumulative market value of the Big Three reaches up to 9.63 trillion US dollars (approximately equivalent to 69.8 trillion yuan in Chinese currency), while the total market value of our Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets is 75.8 trillion yuan.

If you have no concept of this astronomical figure, then let's compare it to GDPs of various countries. The total market value of the Big Three is equivalent to that of the third-largest economy in the world, ranking only after the United States and China. Meanwhile, the current market value of the Big Three, which stands at 3 trillion US dollars, is equivalent to the economic size of the United Kingdom and France.

As a bellwether in the global consumer electronics market, Apple announced AI-related technological advancements at the recent WWDC Global Developer Conference, demonstrating that it is not lagging behind in artificial intelligence. Among them, the company released Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligent system, introducing powerful generative models to iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, making users' daily personal devices more useful and easier to use.

One of the underlying logics of Apple Intelligence relies on running on device-side and achieving various personalized and intelligent functions without collecting users' personal data. In some scenarios, users may need to use large models that are difficult to accommodate on today's portable devices. Private Cloud Compute can help Apple Intelligence flexibly configure and expand computing resources, utilizing larger server-side models to handle more complex requests while protecting user privacy throughout the process.

At the same time, at the WWDC Global Developer Conference, Apple announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate their ChatGPT, enabling users to directly use ChatGPT's special functions, including its ability to understand images and documents, saving users the trouble of switching back and forth between different tools.

This ushered in the era of Apple AI and drove the king's return, with its market value regaining the 3 trillion US dollar mark and hitting a new record high, once exceeding 3.33 trillion US dollars, reclaiming the global market value crown. It is worth mentioning that iPhone has long occupied a significant share of the global high-end smartphone market and earned the largest profit in the mobile phone industry.

Financial reports show that Apple's net profit for fiscal year 2023 reached 97 billion US dollars (approximately 708.2 billion yuan), truly earning a fortune every day. At the same time, in this fiscal year, revenue from iPhone reached 200.583 billion US dollars (approximately 1.46 trillion yuan), making it the world's annual sales champion brand in mobile phones. According to Canalys data, Apple's annual shipment volume in 2023 was 229 million units, ranking first globally with a 20% market share.

It is worth noting that with the advent of the generative AI era, the global smartphone industry has entered the AI phone era. A report from Canalys pointed out that under the impetus of AI technology, the transformation potential of smartphones (AI phones) with generative AI capabilities预示着移动通信行业将进入一个新时代。Among them, global major manufacturers such as Apple, Google, and Samsung are at the forefront of integrating generative AI functions into their devices.

For Microsoft, relying on its investment in the AI lab OpenAI, it has released ChatGPT with text generation capabilities and Sora, a large model for text-to-video, propelling artificial intelligence into the era of large models. Microsoft utilizes ChatGPT to improve product services, including fully integrating GPT into Office. At the same time, it exports AI capabilities through cloud services, contributing to the growth of its cloud revenue, making it one of the winners in generative AI.

Financial reports show that revenue for the third quarter ending March 31, 2024 (the third fiscal quarter of 2024) reached 61.9 billion US dollars, representing a year-on-year increase of 17%; net profit was 21.9 billion US dollars, representing a year-on-year increase of 20%. Among them, Microsoft's cloud services hit a new high, with cloud revenue reaching 35.1 billion US dollars in the quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of 23%. It is the world's largest cloud service provider in terms of revenue.

For NVIDIA, it has become the strongest stock on the ground amid the wave of generative AI. After a three-fold increase in 2023, it has continued its strong rally this year, rising over 130% within the year, with a market value of up to 3.08 trillion US dollars. While the capital market continues to climb and hit new record highs, revenue has also grown exponentially.

NVIDIA's financial report for the first fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2025, ending April 28, showed revenue of 26.044 billion US dollars, an increase of 262% year-on-year; net profit was 14.881 billion US dollars, an increase of 628% year-on-year. Among them, data center business revenue reached 22.6 billion US dollars, representing a 427% increase compared to the same period last year, thanks to the shipment of Hopper series graphics processors, including the H100 GPU.

From ChatGPT to GPT-4, from the large text-to-video model Sora, to Anthropic releasing the ultra-powerful Claude3 model, the development of AI large models in various industries cannot be separated from NVIDIA's high-performance chips. As a result, NVIDIA chips are in short supply. As always at the forefront of AI transformation, NVIDIA's platform plays a crucial role in AI applications in many fields.

Finally, artificial intelligence technology is radically changing the way businesses operate, with 95% of enterprises planning to expand its use in the next two years. Moreover, AI technology is also being applied in personal life, with 66% of respondents incorporating AI technology into their daily lives.

As AI gains wider application in society, its impact on the economy is also becoming increasingly significant. Currently, various organizations are gradually recognizing the significant changes brought about by AI intelligent technology. Of course, the rapid rise of the Big Three in the capital market also carries risks, but the reason for the market's continuous climb lies in investors' optimistic attitude towards the commercial prospects of AI. In particular, the development of AI large models by various companies relies on NVIDIA's AI platform. With generative AI stepping onto the stage of the times, NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, once said that he expects all software companies worldwide to rely on NVIDIA AI for their operations.