By Adam Clark
Intel and other chip companies were dropping early Friday. Investors look to be locking in some profits after a historic surge in semiconductor stocks.
Intel was down 4.1% at $111.27 in premarket trading. The move was in line with peers, as Advanced Micro Devices was down 3.4% and Arm Holdings was falling 4.4%.
All three companies have soared in recent months on excitement about the need for their central-processing units for artificial-intelligence servers. Intel was a Barron's stock pick last month when the shares were trading around $64.
However, analysts have warned that the rise in chip stocks risked going too far and repeating bubbles from the past.
"Markets are assuming that the lifecycle of AI firms is different to all other companies historically and that they are immune to normal competitive dynamics," wrote Michel Lerner, UBS head of HOLT, a corporate performance and valuation framework, in a note.
The rush to invest in the companies benefiting from huge AI spending is understandable. AI semiconductor stocks are heading toward an average 30% cash flow return on investment (CFROI) -- a metric developed by HOLT to evaluate economic return -- this year, according to UBS.
However, historically such performances have proved unsustainable, with only one in five companies maintaining a CFROI at or above such levels ten years after achieving it.
"There is a risk that markets are running too hot on the AI story. The move up in U.S. share prices in April stands out as a 2.8x standard deviation event over the last 25 years compared with any similar daily rolling one-month period," Lerner wrote.
Investors look to be recognizing the risks of assuming the AI trade can keep going indefinitely.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2026 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments