NVIDIA alone beats 48 other US states’ top firms combined

Three companies are now worth more than the top firm in every other US state put together.

That is the standout finding from a new ranking by Visual Capitalist, which mapped the single most valuable company in each of the 50 US states and Washington, D.C. It is a US story on the surface, but it matters here too. Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, the Kuwait Investment Authority, holds large positions in American markets, and plenty of residents here trade US stocks from their phones. When a handful of firms start pulling away like this, it changes where that money flows. It also connects to a trend we have written about before: how AI is starting to change jobs in Kuwait, because the same AI boom driving these US valuations is the one reshaping work everywhere else too.

What the data actually shows

The ranking uses figures from Stock Analysis as of 7 October 2026. Each state is credited with the company whose principal executive office, as filed with US regulators, sits inside its borders. The list excludes shell companies and firms that have not yet completed a merger, and it includes stocks traded over the counter.

California and Washington take the top two spots nationally. Idaho comes in fourth place because of Micron Technology, the memory chipmaker. Nebraska and Indiana round out the group of six trillion-dollar state leaders, carried by Berkshire Hathaway and the drugmaker Eli Lilly.

Beyond the very top, the picture looks far more ordinary. New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota are each led by a major health care company. Financial firms also show up strongly: JPMorgan Chase leads New York, Bank of America leads North Carolina, and Berkshire Hathaway leads Nebraska. Arkansas is led by Walmart, a reminder that plenty of America’s corporate wealth still sits outside technology.

Why NVIDIA is so far ahead

NVIDIA is worth about 46% more than Microsoft, the runner-up. The gap comes down to one thing: demand for the chips that power artificial intelligence data centres. NVIDIA’s data centre revenue more than doubled year over year in its second quarter of fiscal 2027, according to the figures used in the ranking. That same AI infrastructure boom is lifting Idaho’s Micron Technology too.

Technology firms also lead a few other states worth noting. Florida’s top company is Palantir, valued at $466.5 billion. Delaware’s is Marvell Technology, at $249.6 billion, because the chipmaker’s principal office is in Wilmington. Montana’s leader is FICO, the credit-scoring firm, at $14.7 billion. Wyoming’s is a much smaller firm, Universal Token, worth $193 million.

Add Micron to the top three and the top four US state leaders are worth a combined $13.2 trillion. That is roughly 58% of the $22.7 trillion total value of all 51 state and D.C. leaders.

How this compares with Europe

The contrast with Europe is sharp. Across 42 European national markets, financial and energy companies lead in 28 of them. Technology claims just one spot, held by the Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML, valued at $670.3 billion. The US picture, where tech names tower over everything else, is the exception rather than the rule globally.

What this means if you live in Kuwait

If you hold a pension, savings plan or investment account with any exposure to US stocks, this concentration is worth knowing about. A large share of American corporate value now sits in a very small number of companies tied to AI. That can mean strong gains when those firms do well, but it also means more risk if sentiment turns. Kuwait residents watching their money against the dollar should also keep an eye on how much their currency has lost against the US dollar this year, since a weaker home currency makes US assets even more expensive to buy.

For anyone here thinking about borrowing to invest, or comparing loan options before putting money into markets, it is worth reading up on how Kuwait’s banks compare for loans before making a move. You can find more background on global business trends in our international news section.

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