Nvidia is now worth more than the GDP of every country except these 11 - WealthInsider

Nvidia Corp.’s NVDA, +0.36% meteoric rise makes it not only the third-largest company in the U.S. in terms of market capitalization, but also bigger than most other countries’ economies, based on gross domestic product.

The chip maker’s stock closed at $788.17 on Friday, giving it a market value of $1.97 trillion. That figure is greater than the GDP of every nation in the world but 11, beating the likes of Russia, South Korea and Australia, according to February International Monetary Fund data compiled by Forbes.

Also see: Nvidia’s worth $2 trillion, becoming only the third U.S. company to hit that mark

Of course, comparing a single stock’s market cap to a country’s GDP is not a perfect exercise, as GDP is a measure of a nation’s output and market cap measures the total value of all shares of a publicly traded company.

Shares of Nvidia are up 238% over the past 12 months as the chip maker has seen huge interest in its graphics processing units, which are used by other companies to develop some artificial-intelligence applications.

The company said in its latest earnings report that it forecasts continued demand for its products, leading to a $277 billion gain in its market cap on Thursday — the biggest one-day valuation jump in U.S. history.

Read on: ‘AI bubble is not in trouble.’ History shows Nvidia’s blistering post-earnings rally won’t fade, says Citi.