According to LSEG data, Nvidia was worth €1.69 trillion, compared to €1.68 trillion for the online giant Amazon.com and just behind Google's parent company, Alphabet's €1.73 trillion.

The last time Nvidia was worth more than Amazon was in 2002, when they were worth less than €5.6 billion.

After Amazon's bumper Christmas sales last month, investors are eyeing Nvidia's quarterly results on 21 Feb. It is the last of the big firms to report this earnings season.

Expectations have been high ahead of the report, with shares jumping 47 per cent year-to-date, making it the biggest winner among S&P 500 firms.

Stunning quarterly results and strong forecasts from Nvidia a year ago showed that the chip maker was leading the pack in supplying tech firms working on cutting-edge AI-like chatbots and image creation.

The gamble on strong AI demand has boosted Nvidia shares, making it the best-performing stock among the so-called "Magnificent Seven", with a 223 per cent rise over the past 12 months. Meta Platforms is second with a 163 per cent increase.

In January, Microsoft beat Apple to become the world's most valuable company, with Alphabet in third place.