Google Powers Tech Charge as Megacaps Reach $21 Trillion Market Cap

New York — US technology titans mounted a strong rally this week with Alphabet, Apple, and Broadcom powering gains that took the aggregate market cap of the eight largest publicly listed technology companies to a record $21 trillion.

The surge came on the heels of a positive ruling for Google in the remedies stage of its antitrust trial, calming investors' fears of structural breakups. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta did not require Google's Chrome browser to be divested, however, mandating only that the company provide some search information to competitors. The ruling also lifted Apple, whose multibillion-dollar agreement to retain Google as the default search engine on iPhones is no longer threatened. Alphabet leaped more than 10% for the week, and Apple gained 3.2%.

Wedbush Securities analysts stated that the decision "took a massive overhang" off both companies' shoulders and could open the door to more profound AI partnerships, especially with Google's Gemini models. Judge Mehta mentioned the lightning-fast development of generative AI by upstarts such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity as one of the factors redefining the competitive landscape.

Broadcom weighed in, jumping 13% on the news of a $10 billion deal with a significant new AI client, widely thought to be OpenAI. The victory propelled Broadcom into the trillion-dollar club as its market capitalization is now pegged at $1.6 trillion.

Meanwhile, Tesla rose 5% following a suggestion of a huge new compensation package for CEO Elon Musk, valued at almost $1 trillion if the company meets lofty growth goals. In contrast, Nvidia dropped 4%, its fourth straight weekly loss, although it is still the largest-valued listed company with more than $4 trillion. Microsoft also declined, its fifth straight weekly fall, despite the shares being 21% higher year-over-year.

Collectively, the shifts reflect the dominance of megacap tech in U.S. marketplaces. The companies now represent about 36% of the S&P 500, a record unmatched, as stated by S&P Dow Jones Indices.