Nvidia's stock climbed as much as 1.9% in early trading Tuesday, reaching a fresh all-time high of $243.37. The chipmaker's market capitalization now stands just below $5.8 trillion, putting it within roughly $200 billion of becoming the first company to hit the $6 trillion milestone.
The latest advance extends Nvidia's year-to-date gain to about 28%, adding approximately $1.3 trillion to its market value. This surge has made Nvidia the largest single contributor to the S&P 500's roughly 14% rise in 2026, underscoring its outsized influence on the broader equity market.
Reversal from March slump
The rally marks a sharp turnaround from earlier in the year, when Nvidia shares were down 11% as of March 30. At that time, investors questioned whether the massive capital spending on AI infrastructure would generate sufficient returns. Sentiment has since shifted as AI spending has continued unabated and Nvidia provided a stronger revenue outlook. The company also announced a record buyback program, giving investors another reason to reassess the stock.
The combination of strong expected earnings growth and a valuation that remains relatively low compared with Nvidia's historical levels has helped support the latest rally.
Analyst optimism persists
Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an 'Overweight' rating and a $350 price target on Nvidia following a recent non-deal roadshow. The firm said consensus estimates remain too low and expects Nvidia to deliver another strong year of growth extending into 2028. Cantor also anticipates Nvidia will increase its share of overall revenue across 2027 and 2028, describing the stock as positioned for a potential catch-up trade.
Earlier this week, BNP Paribas raised its price target to $345 from $285, citing Nvidia's broad portfolio spanning AI hardware, CUDA software, and networking products. BNP Paribas expects Nvidia to maintain its leading position in AI computing as workloads increasingly shift toward inference—the process of running AI models after they have been trained. That transition could broaden demand beyond the initial wave of spending on model training infrastructure.
The brokerage also expects Nvidia to maintain gross margins above 70% despite increasing competition from custom chips and other semiconductor companies.
Path to $6 trillion
Nvidia's latest rally has brought the company within striking distance of the $6 trillion valuation threshold. The milestone would further extend Nvidia's lead as the largest company in the S&P 500 and reinforce its role as one of the biggest drivers of US equity-market performance.
The stock's gains come despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, suggesting investors remain focused on the company's earnings growth and the durability of AI infrastructure demand.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
