Nvidia has lost its place in the exclusive $3 trillion market cap club, leaving Apple as the only publicly traded company still holding that valuation.

The decline comes as Nvidia’s stock tumbled in the wake of its latest earnings report, sparking renewed concerns over whether the chipmaker’s dominance in the AI industry is beginning to face real challenges.

After Nvidia’s shares dropped 8.5% on Thursday, the company saw its market capitalization shrink to $2.94 trillion, wiping out an estimated $273 billion in value in just one day. Although the stock rebounded slightly on Friday, gaining about 1%, it was not enough to restore Nvidia’s previous position above the $3 trillion mark.

This steep decline highlights that Nvidia is not yet free from the lingering effects of DeepSeek’s emergence, a development that has sent ripples through the semiconductor industry and significantly impacted Nvidia’s stock in recent months.

The growing influence of DeepSeek, an AI research and semiconductor company backed by China’s leading tech giants, has raised concerns over Nvidia’s long-term dominance in the AI chip sector.

DeepSeek, which made headlines late last year, has been aggressively developing high-performance AI chips that are being positioned as direct competitors to Nvidia’s GPUs. The company, reportedly supported by Alibaba, Tencent, and other Chinese investors, aims to create advanced AI processing units that bypass U.S. sanctions on semiconductor exports to China.

As a result, the emergence of DeepSeek has been viewed as a potential game-changer in the AI and semiconductor industries, as it introduces a powerful new competitor into a market that Nvidia has long dominated. Investors reacted swiftly when news of DeepSeek’s advancements began circulating in late 2024, leading to a brief tech stock sell-off that affected major U.S. chipmakers, including Nvidia and AMD.

For Nvidia, this was particularly alarming given that China accounts for a significant portion of its AI chip sales. The company has been struggling with export restrictions imposed by the U.S. government, limiting its ability to sell its most advanced GPUs to Chinese firms. DeepSeek’s rapid progress presents an additional challenge, as it reduces China’s dependence on Nvidia’s products altogether.

The fear that DeepSeek could capture a sizable market share in China has weighed heavily on Nvidia’s stock, contributing to its recent volatility. Analysts have pointed out that while Nvidia still leads in terms of AI chip performance, the geopolitical landscape and increasing competition from Chinese firms could threaten its long-term growth prospects.

Even before the DeepSeek threat materialized, Nvidia had been facing mounting concerns from investors over several key issues, including:

1. The potential for stricter U.S. export controls on AI chips, which could further limit Nvidia’s ability to sell to key international markets.
2. Growing fears that AI models are becoming more efficient, reducing the need for the most powerful GPUs that Nvidia specializes in producing.
3. Worries about a slowdown in AI infrastructure investment, particularly from large cloud service providers like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, which account for a significant chunk of Nvidia’s revenue.

These concerns have led to increased profit-taking among investors, as many seek to lock in gains after Nvidia’s historic stock surge in 2023 and 2024. The latest earnings report, while strong, failed to fully ease worries about the company’s future growth trajectory.

Despite the stock decline, Nvidia’s latest earnings report was solid, with the company delivering results that exceeded analyst expectations.

Revenue for the most recent quarter came in at $39.33 billion, marking a 78% increase from the previous year. Nvidia’s data center revenue alone surged 93%, reaching nearly $36 billion, a reflection of the continued demand for its AI chips.

CEO Jensen Huang reassured investors that the company’s outlook remains strong, particularly as next-generation AI models require even more processing power. He explained that AI models are evolving to think and reason step by step, a process that demands significantly higher computational capabilities.

“The amount of computation necessary to do that reasoning process is 100 times more than what we used to do,” Huang told CNBC in an interview.

Additionally, Nvidia confirmed that production issues for its upcoming Blackwell chip have largely been resolved, setting the stage for a strong start to fiscal 2026. However, even with these reassurances, the stock continued to slide, underscoring the broader concerns hanging over the semiconductor industry.

Semiconductor Challenges and AMD’s Struggles

Nvidia’s struggles are not occurring in isolation. The broader semiconductor sector has been under pressure, with other major chipmakers also experiencing significant stock declines.

AMD, one of Nvidia’s biggest competitors, has been particularly hard hit. The company’s stock has dropped over 10% this week and is now down more than 13% since early February. The sell-off was triggered by a disappointing fourth-quarter earnings report, which showed that AMD’s data center revenue fell short of expectations.

The weaker-than-expected results have fueled speculation that AMD is struggling to compete with Nvidia in the AI chip market, further reinforcing Nvidia’s dominance in the sector. However, given the rapid developments in AI and the emergence of new competitors like DeepSeek, Nvidia’s position at the top is no longer as secure as it once was.

However, Nvidia’s stock is still worth five times more than it was two years ago, at the start of the generative AI boom.

While the short-term sell-off reflects concerns about competition, geopolitical risks, and slowing AI investment, many analysts believe that Nvidia remains well-positioned to capitalize on the continued expansion of AI technologies.

Still, the question remains: Can Nvidia quickly bounce back and reclaim its $3 trillion valuation, or is this the beginning of a more prolonged correction?

MTN Nigeria has reported a staggering N400.44 billion loss after tax for the year ended December 31, 2024, marking a 192% increase from the N137.02 billion loss recorded in 2023.

The telco attributed this loss primarily to the devaluation of the naira, which caused a sharp spike in foreign exchange (forex) losses, significantly impacting its financial position.

According to its audited financial statements released on Thursday, forex losses surged to N925 billion in 2024, up from N740 billion in the previous year. This emanated from the depreciation of the naira, which fell from N907/$ at the end of 2023 to N1,535/$ by December 2024, making it more expensive for MTN to service its foreign-denominated obligations, such as network expansion costs and equipment purchases.

However, MTN Nigeria’s revenue grew by 36% to N3.36 trillion in 2024, up from N2.47 trillion in 2023, driven by continued demand for data and digital services. But the mounting forex losses overshadowed these gains, leaving the company in a negative retained earnings position of N607.5 billion as of December 2024.

Telecom Sector Bedeviled by Nigeria’s Harsh Economic Realities

For years, the telecommunications sector has been Nigeria’s economic cash cow, contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and serving as one of the most stable industries in the country. However, the sector has struggled under Nigeria’s harsh economic realities, facing challenges such as:

• Soaring operational costs due to the high cost of diesel to power base stations amid Nigeria’s unstable electricity supply.
• Forex volatility has significantly increased the cost of importing telecom equipment.
• Regulatory constraints, particularly restrictions on tariff hikes, limited the operators’ ability to adjust prices in line with inflation and currency depreciation.

These challenges have led to huge financial losses for telecom operators, with MTN Nigeria being the most affected due to its size, scale of operations, and foreign currency exposure.

Delayed Tariff Adjustment

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which regulates the telecom sector, had long resisted allowing operators to increase tariffs despite repeated appeals from telcos. Until recently, telecom operators struggled to recover their costs, as their revenues were not keeping pace with the soaring expenses driven by inflation, forex devaluation, and energy costs.

After years of lobbying, the NCC finally approved a 50% upward review in call, data, and SMS tariffs, granting operators some relief to offset their rising costs.

The tariff hike, which was officially implemented in early 2024, marks a major shift in the industry and is expected to significantly reduce losses for telecom companies.

According to industry analysts, this tariff review, coupled with internal cost-cutting measures and operational adjustments, should help MTN Nigeria and other telcos stabilize their financials and return to profitability.

MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Karl Toriola, expressed confidence in the company’s ability to bounce back, citing the resilience of its business model and recent regulatory approvals as key factors that will aid recovery.

“We are encouraged by the resilience of our business in FY 2024, which reflects our strong commitment to driving growth and managing costs. Despite facing significant macroeconomic headwinds, including record-high inflation, as well as ongoing currency and energy price volatility, we remained focused on executing our strategy and creating long-term value for our stakeholders,” he said.

Toriola also acknowledged the recent tariff adjustments as a positive step: “We are grateful to the authorities for the recent approval of tariff adjustments, which are essential for our industry’s sustainability and crucial for addressing our negative capital position,” he said.

While MTN Nigeria’s revenue growth indicates that demand for telecom services remains strong, industry analysts believe that the company’s future profitability will depend largely on the following issues:

• Impact of the New Tariff Structure – The approved 50% tariff hike is expected to boost revenues in the coming quarters, but its effectiveness in fully offsetting forex losses remains to be seen.
• Operational Efficiency – The company will need to cut costs and improve efficiency to maximize the impact of the new tariffs.
• Government Policies – The regulatory environment will continue to play a major role in the telco’s financial health, especially regarding future price adjustments and forex availability.

As I always remind young people, when a company says “Welcome to the family”, do not be confused because no company can be your family. Yes, you’re nobody’s kid at work. The rule is clear: get your job done, get paid etc but if necessary, the mission can move on without you. A real family will not throw you under the bus because of missed earnings or due to a recession! That takes me to Ukraine whose president is learning hard on the job. Yes, nobody really cares because the world does not care.

Read Trump after today’s meeting with Ukraine’s leader…

“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE,” Trump.

“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

A meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance turned contentious at the White House. Trump criticized Zelensky for perceived disrespect and lack of gratitude for U.S. support in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, while Vance questioned Zelensky’s diplomatic approach. The discussions highlighted tensions over U.S. aid, military strategy, and diplomatic respect.

JD Vance and Trump just put Zelensky in his place. Wow. Watch this.

pic.twitter.com/zndgjKEPKz

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 28, 2025

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Comment 1: I totally agree with you, success in both business and geopolitics is driven by value, not sentiment. Companies and nations prioritize strategy over emotions—no one pauses for those who don’t add value. Stay relevant, adaptable, and in control of your own narrative, because in the end, only results secure your place at the table.