The U.S. tech sector had a blockbuster week, as market optimism fueled by court victories and major AI developments pushed the combined value of eight megacap tech companies past $21 trillion — accounting for over 36% of the S&P 500, an all-time high.
The standout driver was Alphabet, whose stock surged more than 10% after a U.S. judge delivered a favorable remedy in its ongoing antitrust case. Although Google lost the case in 2024, the recent ruling spared the company from structural breakups like selling Chrome. Instead, it was ordered to share some search data with competitors — a light blow compared to what investors feared.
This decision also lifted Apple, which relies on Google paying billions annually to remain the default search engine on iPhones. Analysts say the ruling clears a path for the companies to expand their AI partnership involving Google’s Gemini models. Apple shares rose 3.2% for the week.
Meanwhile, Broadcom made headlines by securing a $10 billion contract from what analysts believe is OpenAI, making it the chipmaker’s fourth major AI client alongside Google, Meta, and ByteDance. The news, combined with strong earnings, sent Broadcom’s shares soaring 13%, pushing its market cap to $1.6 trillion.
Tesla also enjoyed a rebound, with shares jumping 5% after the company proposed a massive new pay package for CEO Elon Musk. The plan, worth nearly $1 trillion across 12 tranches, aims to retain Musk’s leadership as Tesla battles Chinese EV competitors and seeks renewed growth.
On the downside, Nvidia, despite its dominance in AI chips and a market cap still above $4 trillion, saw shares decline over 4%, marking its fourth straight weekly loss. There was no specific catalyst, but analysts see it as a natural cooldown after massive year-to-date gains.
Microsoft also slipped slightly, extending its five-week losing streak, though it’s still up 21% in the past year.
Overall, despite mixed individual performances, the collective strength of the tech megacaps underscores the sector’s continued dominance — powered by favorable legal outcomes, deep AI investments, and resilient investor confidence.
As S&P’s Howard Silverblatt noted, the sheer scale of tech’s presence in the index is without historical parallel, a sign of how central these companies have become to the global economy.
