Apple regains the title of the world's most valuable public company

Apple is back on top of the global market-cap rankings, with its valuation climbing to $4.95 trillion while NVIDIA slipped out of first place after a roughly 5% decline.

The move came after reports that NVIDIA would commit $250 billion to OpenAI data centers. Investors also grew more cautious about closed-loop deals and heavy artificial intelligence spending, which added pressure to NVIDIA's valuation.

Apple has taken a more cautious approach to artificial intelligence and does not plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on its own infrastructure. The company relies on third-party AI models and cloud technologies, including Google's, for its services.

That difference is also reflected in this year's stock performance. Since the start of the year, Apple shares are up 26%, while NVIDIA shares have risen 6%.

Apple software chief Craig Federighi said the company is not trying to use AI just for the sake of AI, but is betting on practical benefits for users. That stance now looks like a major part of Apple's advantage as investors reassess how much they want to reward AI spending.

Earlier reports also said Apple is preparing its first foldable iPhone Ultra.

Will investors keep rewarding Apple's more cautious AI strategy if the selloff in AI stocks continues?