Nvidia shares touched a record $243.37 on Tuesday, lifting the chipmaker's market capitalization above $5.8 trillion and within roughly $6 of the $6 trillion threshold no listed company has crossed. The stock has gained about 28% in 2026, adding approximately $1.2 trillion in market value and widening its lead over Apple, which sat at roughly $4.86 trillion on Monday.

The advance follows a fiscal second-quarter earnings report showing $96.2 billion in revenue, up 106% year-over-year, with data center revenue climbing 117% to $89 billion over the same period. Nvidia guided third-quarter revenue to $108 billion, plus or minus 2%, in a forecast that has anchored the rerating.

What is driving Nvidia's market value?

Spending on AI infrastructure has continued through 2026 without the demand softness some investors feared earlier in the year. As of March 30, Nvidia shares were still down about 11% for the year, with skepticism focused on whether hundreds of billions committed to data centers would translate into earnings. Sentiment shifted as quarterly results validated the capex cycle. Nvidia has contributed more than any other constituent to the S&P 500's roughly 14% advance in 2026, according to Bloomberg data.

How has Nvidia deepened its AI footprint?

The chipmaker's equity investments in AI companies reached $99 billion as of July 26, up from roughly $7 billion a year earlier. Nvidia has committed more than $40 billion across frontier AI labs, infrastructure providers and adjacent businesses in 2026 alone.

In September, the company agreed to acquire open-source AI platform Hugging Face for about $12.9 billion—approximately $11.9 billion for shareholders and up to $1 billion in equity-based retention awards—with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2027.

How is the buyback program expanding?

The board authorized an additional $150 billion under the existing share repurchase program in late September, raising the remaining authorization to $235 billion. The company expects to execute the residual program through fiscal 2028. "This authorization reflects our confidence in the long term opportunity ahead," CEO Jensen Huang said. Huang has separately described Nvidia as "the world's first and only growth value stock," framing rapid top-line growth against a valuation he argues remains modest relative to historical multiples.

How are crypto markets repricing Nvidia exposure?

Tokenized versions of Nvidia equity have proliferated onchain as the stock's price action has drawn retail attention. xStocks lists NVDAx, a token backed one-to-one by Nvidia shares held in custody. Ondo Finance offers NVDAon, fully backed by underlying shares and cash in transit, with distribution across Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain. Coinbase lists NVDAc on its tokenized stocks platform on Base.

Robinhood Europe's NVDA Stock Token differs structurally: it operates as a derivative contract that tracks shares rather than conferring ownership of the underlying security—a distinction that changes regulatory and bankruptcy-remote treatment investors face.

What structurally changes for tokenized issuers?

Differences in legal wrapper, collateralization and redemption rights now define a more clearly tiered market. Custodial one-to-one claims, as in NVDAx and NVDAon, replicate equity ownership more closely, while derivatives-style products replicate price exposure only. As the largest listed company by market capitalization approaches $6 trillion, the onchain replication of its shares is becoming a stress test of how tokenization rails handle liquidity, collateral segregation and cross-chain distribution at scale.

Nvidia's next fiscal reporting window will test whether the $108 billion third-quarter revenue range holds; the upcoming quarterly print now functions as the principal catalyst that could compress or extend the path to a $6 trillion market capitalization.