June 3 (Reuters) - Nvidia ( NVDA ) led global companies

in market cap gains in May, buoyed by a stunning rally as its

bumper revenue forecast reinforced investor confidence in the

AI-driven surge in chip demand.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) market cap soared to $2.69 trillion at the end of

May, marking a nearly 25% increase during the month, as the

announcement of its stock split further boosted investor

enthusiasm.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) maintained its position as the leading

global company by market cap, rising 6.6% to $3.08 trillion in

May, with shares touching record highs driven by expectations

that AI will significantly boost profit growth for Microsoft ( MSFT ) and

its major competitors.

Those expectations were further bolstered as the company

introduced a new category of personal computers with AI

features, called 'Copilot+' PCs, capable of handling more

artificial intelligence tasks without relying on cloud data

centers.

Apple ( AAPL ) remained the second-largest company by market

cap, surging 12.9% to $2.94 trillion at the end of May, fueled

by AI optimism, and increased smartphone shipments to China.

Brokerage BofA Global Research noted that artificial

intelligence is driving a shift from smartphones to

"IntelliPhones" - AI-powered smartphones - and projected that

Apple ( AAPL ) would benefit from a multi-year upgrade cycle driven by

AI.

Walmart Inc. experienced significant growth, with its

market cap rising 10.8% to $530 billion at the end of last

month, as the company reported better-than-expected quarterly

results and raised its full-year forecast, anticipating that

easing inflation will boost sales of groceries and non-essential

merchandise such as clothing and electronics.

Meanwhile, Tesla's market cap dropped nearly 3% to

$567.9 billion, affected by a decline in its sales in Europe,

slowing growth in electric vehicle demand, and tough competition

impacting the demand for Tesla's vehicles.