AI demand, earnings optimism lift tech giants' market value in May

The world's most valuable technology companies with the exception of Alphabet, added billions of dollars in market value in May, as upbeat earnings outlooks and strong demand for AI chips fueled a rally in their shares.

Apple, memory chipmakers Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix led the gains, adding USD 598 billion, USD 512 billion, USD 481 billion, and USD 377 billion, respectively, in market value. Their valuations rose to USD 4.58 trillion, USD 1.09 trillion, USD 1.10 trillion, and USD 1.34 trillion, respectively.

In late April, Apple pointed to strong demand for its flagship iPhone 17 and MacBook Neo and announced a fresh USD 100 billion share buyback.

Samsung reported an eightfold jump in first-quarter operating profit in April, while Micron drew analyst upgrades after saying its 2026 high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips were already sold out and next-generation HBM4 products were in production.

Microsoft and Nvidia also gained, with their market values rising by USD 315 billion and USD 276 billion, respectively, to USD 3.35 trillion and USD 5.11 trillion.

Nvidia forecast second-quarter revenue above expectations in May and announced an USD 80 billion share repurchase programme.

Bucking the trend, Alphabet's market value dropped USD 59.77 billion to USD 4.59 trillion.

In the world's 20 most valuable companies including other sectors, banking group JPMorgan Chase and retailing giant Walmart saw the biggest falls in market capitalization in May, by USD 130.47 billion and USD 37.3 billion, respectively, to USD 921 billion and USD 802 billion.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)