Since the launch of ChatGPT in late November 2022, Nvidia (NVDA) has outperformed every stock in the S&P 500 (^GSPC). The chipmaker's shares have surged nearly 700% since ChatGPT introduced artificial intelligence to the masses, far exceeding the S&P 500’s approximate 45% gain over the same period. The next highest increase among S&P 500 companies during this timeframe is Vistra Corp (VST), which rose about 540%. Nvidia has become the leading supplier of chips essential for running AI systems. Positioned at the heart of an AI arms race, Nvidia has become a cornerstone of the recent stock market rally, with its sales and profits soaring in recent years. Ahead of Nvidia’s upcoming quarterly earnings report on May 28, we examined several striking charts illustrating how the company became one of the most widely followed stocks. One of the clearest indicators of Nvidia’s dominance in the AI surge is its market capitalization compared to rivals. When ChatGPT launched, Nvidia’s market cap was just over $400 billion. Today, it exceeds $3. 3 trillion. During the same span, Intel’s (INTC) market cap has declined, while Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) market cap grew modestly from $125 billion to $177 billion. Nvidia’s ascent has been central to a new technological boom.

Alongside Nvidia, six other major players — Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA) — form the group known as the "Magnificent Seven. " This group began the AI boom with a combined market cap just under $7 trillion. Now, two and a half years later, their collective market cap exceeds $16. 8 trillion. These seven companies have increased their share of the S&P 500’s market capitalization from about 22% in November 2022 to 32% today. Because of their heavy weighting in the S&P 500, large fluctuations in Nvidia’s stock have become a significant factor in how broad market investors perceive stock trends. In June 2024, three Wall Street strategists raised their year-end S&P 500 targets, citing stronger-than-expected, steady performance among key AI players. As of May 19, the Magnificent Seven have contributed approximately 52% of the S&P 500’s gains since November 30, 2022. Nvidia alone accounts for 17. 21% of that increase — the largest contribution among the group — followed by Microsoft at about 8. 8%.