According to TechSpot, Alphabet’s market cap closed at $3.892 trillion, surpassing Apple’s $3.863 trillion after its shares rose 2.5% and Apple’s fell over 4% in five days. This marks the first time since January 29, 2019, that Google’s parent company has been worth more. Throughout 2025, Alphabet’s stock is up 66% while Apple’s is up only 9%, a gap many attribute to their contrasting AI fortunes. Key drivers include the release of Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash image model, its TPU v7 “Ironwood” accelerator, and massive cloud deals, while Apple has repeatedly delayed its enhanced Siri and faced criticism for its Apple Intelligence features.
The AI Divergence Is Real
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just about one good day on the markets. It’s about trajectory. Alphabet is being perceived as an aggressive executor in the AI race, while Apple is seen as… well, stumbling. Google shipped tangible, buzz-worthy AI products last year—Gemini models, new hardware accelerators, a Pentagon deal. That stuff moves the needle for investors looking for AI exposure. Apple, meanwhile, has become a story of delays and underwhelming demos. When your biggest AI headline of the year is Siri generating fake news summaries, that’s a problem. It creates a narrative, and on Wall Street, narrative is everything.
More Than Just Phones
This shift also highlights how these companies’ core engines are viewed. Apple is still overwhelmingly tied to the iPhone cycle. But Alphabet? Its growth story is now firmly in the cloud and AI infrastructure. Sundar Pichai touting more $1-billion-plus cloud deals in three quarters than the prior two years combined is a huge signal. It shows enterprise and government are buying what Google’s selling. That’s a recurring revenue, high-margin business that looks a lot like the future. Apple’s services business is strong, but does it have the same AI-growth aura right now? Not really.
The Nvidia-Shaped Ceiling
Let’s not get carried away, though. Both companies are still playing for second place. Nvidia, at a staggering $4.6 trillion, is in a league of its own. That $800 billion gap between Alphabet and Nvidia is basically another entire Meta. It shows that while applying AI to your own products (Alphabet) is rewarded, being the arms dealer supplying the entire industry (Nvidia) is rewarded a lot more. Still, for Alphabet to pass Apple, it shows investors are making clear distinctions. They’re not just lumping all “Big Tech” together anymore. They’re betting on who they think will actually win in the new paradigm.
What Comes Next?
So, is this permanent? Who knows. Market cap rankings among giants are always a bit musical chairs. But the pressure on Apple is now immense. They have to stick the landing with their delayed Siri and Apple Intelligence features this year. Another delay or a lukewarm reception could cement this new pecking order. For Alphabet, the challenge is to keep executing and to prove that its AI integrations—which, let’s be honest, users often find annoying—can translate into durable business growth beyond just hype. One thing’s for sure: the post-iPhone era of tech valuation is officially here, and it’s being written in AI code.
