In the second quarter of 2026, chip stocks experienced record-breaking gains as investors expanded their artificial intelligence (AI) portfolios beyond Nvidia, resulting in a $2 trillion increase in combined market capitalization for Micron, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) [1]. Micron led the surge with a stock price jump of over 240%, adding approximately $920 billion to its market cap. The company reported that its latest quarterly revenue more than quadrupled, driven by soaring memory prices from AI chipmakers, and its gross margin rose dramatically to 84.9% from 39% a year earlier [1].
Intel, a legacy CPU manufacturer, saw its stock rise 216% in the quarter, contributing an additional $480 billion to its market cap. The company is currently building U.S. chip factories and is benefiting from renewed CPU demand as AI workloads increasingly shift to devices [1]. AMD, Intel's main CPU rival, nearly tripled its stock price, adding $615 billion in value. While AMD also produces graphics processing units (GPUs), it remains behind Nvidia in that segment [1].
Nvidia, still the largest company by market cap and continuing to post significant revenue growth, saw its stock rise only 15% in the same period. Among Nvidia's hyperscaler customers, Alphabet led with a 24% gain, while Meta posted the weakest performance with a nearly 2% decline [1]. Barclays analyst Anshul Gupta noted, "The rotation out of AI hyperscalers into AI enablers has shifted investors' euphoria into semis, driving spectacular rallies" [1].
Other AI infrastructure companies also saw substantial gains: Marvell, a networking gear manufacturer, climbed about 200%, and Arm, a supplier of chip technology and designs, rose 134% in the quarter. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) posted a 71% gain, marking its best quarterly performance since its inception in 2000 [1]. Analysts have suggested that these market moves may signal a "changing of the guard in AI," as investors increasingly bet on companies that produce semiconductors complementary to Nvidia's chips and anticipate a broad expansion in AI data center capital expenditures [1].
CONCLUSION
The second quarter of 2026 marked a historic rally for AI chipmakers, with Micron, Intel, and AMD collectively adding $2 trillion in market value as investors diversified beyond Nvidia. This shift reflects growing confidence in a broader range of AI infrastructure providers and suggests a potential realignment in the semiconductor sector. Market sentiment remains highly positive, with analysts highlighting a significant rotation toward AI enablers.