Global semiconductors, after more than a year of carrying the stock market on their shoulders, are in a volatile free fall. The rout in these stocks sparked fears of an AI bubble that, should it burst, could send the tech industry, and perhaps the entire market, into turmoil.
This week, major semiconductor stocks have taken a beating in the stock market. Nvidia fell 5%; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 5%; TSMC, which is facing its own set of geopolitical complications, dropped 7%; and Arm dropped 24%; Qualcomm fell 12%; Intel’s stock fell 31% on news it was suspending its dividend and laying off 15,000 employees.
Nvidia’s New AI Chip is Delayed, Impacting Microsoft, Google, Meta
Nvidia’s upcoming artificial intelligence chips will be delayed by three months or more due to design flaws, a snafu that could affect customers such as Meta Platforms, Google and Microsoft that have collectively ordered tens of billions of dollars worth of the chips, according to two people who help produce the chip and server hardware for it.
Nvidia this week told Microsoft, one of its biggest customers, and another large cloud provider about a delay involving the most advanced AI chip in its new Blackwell series of chips, according to a Microsoft employee and another person with direct knowledge.
AMD Forecasts $4.5 Billion of AI Chip Revenue This Year
Advanced Micro Devices forecast third-quarter revenue above market estimates on Tuesday, banking on demand for its artificial intelligence chips staying strong.
AMD benefits from large cloud operators buying the company's AI and other chips. Some view the company as an alternative to Nvidia. Both Meta Platforms and Microsoft are customers of AMD's MI300 line of AI chips.
Arm Holdings Outlook Disappoints Wall Street
Chip designer Arm Holdings on Wednesday set a revenue forecast in line with Wall Street targets, disappointing investors used to rosier outlooks by the company's rivals in the era of artificial intelligence.
Arm CEO Rene Haas provided a more definitive, but still lengthy timeline during the company’s Wednesday earnings report. Haas said it would take roughly four years for the company to capture a windfall from its new AI server chips. Arm wasn’t helped by the fact that many of its chips are used for smartphones, which have yet to make any meaningful progress incorporating AI.
Intel has worst day on Wall Street in 50 years, falls to lowest price in over a decade
Intel shares plunged the most in 50 years on Friday, reaching a price not seen since 2013, after the chipmaker reported a big earnings miss and announced a massive restructuring.
The stock plummeted 26% to $21.48 at the close. It was the second worst day ever for the shares, behind only a 31% drop in July 1974, which was three years after Intel’s IPO. The company’s market cap is now below $100 billion.
Chipmaker Qualcomm Forecasts Upbeat Revenue, Warns of Trade-Curb Impact
Chipmaker Qualcomm forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, betting on strong demand for high-end Android devices and the need for more chips in smartphones that are getting AI upgrades.
Tighter export curbs on sharing high-end chip technology with China and mounting Sino-U.S. trade tensions are keeping chipmakers from serving one of the largest markets for semiconductors.