Concerns about AI erase hundreds of billions in valuation, tech giants become the losers
After years of significant gains, the world's highest-valued tech stocks have experienced a sharp drop in market capitalization this year. The reason is that investors have begun to question whether the massive investments in artificial intelligence can generate sufficient returns to support the current high valuations.
Microsoft (MSFT) has seen its stock price fall by about 17% so far this year, as the market worries that its AI business faces risks and growing competition from Google's latest Gemini model and Anthropic's Claude Cowork AI agent.
As of last Friday, Microsoft's market capitalization had shrunk by about $613 billion, down to around $2.98 trillion.
Amazon (AMZN) has dropped about 13.85% this year, with its market capitalization falling by about $343 billion, currently standing at around $2.13 trillion.
Earlier this month, Amazon projected that its capital expenditures would surge by over 50% this year.
Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG) have each seen their market capitalizations shrink since the beginning of 2026:
- Nvidia: $89.67 billion, down to $4.44 trillion
- Apple: $256.44 billion, down to $3.76 trillion
- Alphabet: $87.96 billion, down to $3.7 trillion
This correction marks a significant shift in market sentiment: after years of speculative enthusiasm, investors are no longer just rewarding long-term AI visions, but are now demanding clear and visible short-term profits.
In contrast, the following companies have seen their market capitalizations grow during the same period:
- TSMC (TSM): increased by $293.89 billion, reaching $1.58 trillion
- Samsung Electronics (005930.KS/ SSNLF): increased by $272.88 billion, reaching $817 billion
- Walmart (WMT): increased by $179.17 billion, reaching $1.07 trillion
Editor: Guo Mingyu
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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