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Despite a late-year stock market dip, 2024 proved to be a landmark year for U.S. equities, driven primarily by explosive growth in the technology sector.
According to Finbold, leveraging data from CompaniesMarketCap, the top ten U.S. tech companies collectively added $6.6 trillion to their market capitalisation—a remarkable 51.31% increase from 2023.
Apple retained its crown as the world’s most valuable company, reaching a staggering market cap of $3.8 trillion.
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However, the spotlight was arguably stolen by Nvidia, whose valuation skyrocketed by over $2 trillion—a jaw-dropping 175.3% year-over-year (YoY) increase.
Nvidia’s growth was fuelled by its dominance in supplying microchips critical for artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, making it the sector’s top performer.
Broadcom also achieved historic gains, rising from $461 billion in 2023 to $1.1 trillion by year-end 2024. Alphabet, despite challenges like Department of Justice scrutiny and declining search engine performance, managed to grow its valuation by $592 billion (33.71%) to reach $2.3 trillion.
Tesla Motors and Meta Platforms returned to the elite $1 trillion club, posting YoY growth of 69.52% and 64.02%, respectively. Other companies also contributed to the tech surge: Oracle’s market cap increased 61.08% to $467 billion, while Salesforce grew by 26.14% to $321 billion.
Microsoft, often seen as a pioneer in the AI wave due to its early investments in OpenAI, delivered a more modest 13.03% growth, adding $364 billion to its valuation.
The rapid adoption and development of artificial intelligence technology underpinned much of the sector’s success in 2024.
Nvidia emerged as a central player, benefiting from the escalating demand for AI-enabling hardware. Microsoft, through its partnership with OpenAI, helped set the stage for the AI revolution, which saw the top 10 AI companies collectively gain over $5.4 trillion in market cap between late 2022 and mid-2024.
As AI remains a driving force, experts anticipate continued growth in the tech sector, with projections that Nvidia could reach a valuation of $4 trillion or more in 2025.
While optimism reigns, some analysts warn of potential risks. The meteoric rise of big tech stocks has raised concerns about overvaluation, drawing parallels to the Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. Critics point to the growing disparity between the performance of large-cap tech firms and the broader market as a potential source of instability.
These concerns were underscored by a sharp $1.5 trillion market correction triggered by the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) latest inflation forecasts, highlighting the fragility of the current economic environment.
The debate over whether 2024’s tech rally represents sustainable growth or the beginning of a bubble remains unresolved. While some analysts foresee continued expansion fuelled by AI and innovation, others caution that a market correction could be imminent.
As the global economy navigates uncertainties, the performance of tech giants like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft will undoubtedly remain in sharp focus, setting the tone for what could be another record-breaking—or turbulent—year in 2025.
