Apple managed to surpass Nvidia this Friday, the 23rd, taking the lead among publicly traded companies in terms of market capitalization. The manufacturer reached the mark of US$ 5.11 trillion (equivalent to about R$ 25.9 trillion) at the global launch of the iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone.
This new device has an initial price of US$ 1,999 (approximately R$ 10,135) and registered very high demand during pre-sales. The interest in the launch coincided with a sharp appreciation of Apple's shares, which hit a record at the market opening.
The company's shares reached US$ 351.73 (about R$ 1,770) at the start of trading, showing a rise of nearly 1%. In contrast, Nvidia's stocks suffered a slight decline, keeping the company's valuation at US$ 5.09 trillion (about R$ 25.8 trillion).
Demand for the iPhone Duo was extremely intense from the beginning of advance orders, placed the week before the launch. Shortly after, delivery forecasts were already extending until the end of January. This demand was observed in several markets, including Singapore, Shanghai, and London.
Apple described the consumer reaction as 'nothing short of extraordinary.' To manage the order volume, the company limited advance reservations to only two devices per customer. In China, France, Hong Kong, India, and Japan, purchases were restricted to customers who had reserved online.
The long delivery time raised questions about production capacity. In a conversation with CNBC, Greg Joswiak, Apple's Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, refuted reports of manufacturing problems. He stated that the company is undergoing standard production expansion and is manufacturing the devices at the fastest possible pace.
Recent supply chain reports, compiled by Morgan Stanley and released to CNBC, indicate that Apple is expected to produce approximately 6.5 million units of the Duo during the second half of 2026. The high cost of the device may boost revenue, even with a moderate sales volume; the version with higher storage capacity costs US$ 3,199 (about R$ 16,219).
IDC predicts that Apple will capture 44% of the total global foldable phone market value and 31% of unit sales in 2026. The consultancy estimates that the manufacturer will maintain the lead in these two indicators until 2027. Francisco Jeronimo, VP at IDC, commented that 'Apple presented a convincing argument for this format.'
Although the foldable device market is still small in terms of volume, it represents a considerable share of revenue. IDC's projections for 2026 help illustrate this difference. Apple's next earnings report will be presented on November 2nd. In the third fiscal quarter, the iPhone generated US$ 54.25 billion (about R$ 274.8 billion), corresponding to almost half of the company's total revenue of US$ 109.42 billion.
Since the Duo launch occurred after the close of the fourth fiscal quarter, the sales of this device will not appear in this report. Investors will need to wait for the results of the subsequent quarter to assess the product's contribution to holiday season revenue. Apple's shares accumulated a rise of over 29% in 2026, representing the best performance among the Magnificent Seven group companies.