Apple hits $4 trillion ($4,000,000,000,000) market capitalization, overtaking Alphabet to become the world’s 2nd largest company.

 

Apple hits $4 trillion ($4,000,000,000,000) market capitalization, overtaking Alphabet to become the world’s 2nd largest company.

Shares of AI and related stocks are falling sharply on Wednesday, Nvidia is down over 4%, Micron is down over 12%, Palantir is down over 13%, AMD plunged over 18% in a single day and so on.

As of February 4, 2026, the tech sector is experiencing a significant "reality check." After years of hype where AI was seen as a tool to boost corporate profits, the narrative has suddenly shifted to a fear that AI will cannibalize the very companies that sell it.

The immediate cause of the February 2026 sell-off was a major product release from Anthropic. They launched a suite of "Agentic AI" tools (Claude Cowork and specialized plugins) designed to automate entire workflows in legal, finance, and data analysis. Unlike previous AI tools that acted as "assistants," these new agents are being marketed as replacements for repetitive white-collar work.

Alphabet’s market capitalization has fallen below $4 trillion as Apple overtakes it. Alphabet (GOOGL) shares are under pressure amid a broader AI-led sell-off following Anthropic’s release of a new suite of AI tools.

Apple, which has largely avoided aggressive AI bets and remained focused on hardware, has been insulated from the sell-off, with its shares surging despite broader market weakness.

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