--- title: "Shift in AI Infrastructure Investment Trends: AMD, Intel, and Micron Surge as NVIDIA's Halo Fades" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/285802718.md" description: "Wall Street's AI capital is undergoing a \"changing of the guard\": hot money is flowing out of NVIDIA and into Intel, AMD, and Micron. The explosion of AI agents and memory shortages have ignited a new hardware rally. However, undercurrents swirl beneath the feast, with analysts warning that the extreme surge in semiconductors rivals the \"internet bubble,\" urging high alert for correction risks" datetime: "2026-05-09T07:47:34.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/285802718.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285802718.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/285802718.md) --- # Shift in AI Infrastructure Investment Trends: AMD, Intel, and Micron Surge as NVIDIA's Halo Fades Wall Street is experiencing a deep restructuring of AI investment logic. NVIDIA, once the standout performer, is being marginalized by investors as capital floods into previously overlooked chip and hardware companies such as Intel, AMD, and Micron, reflecting a broader market bet on the long-term construction of AI infrastructure. This week's market trends provided the most vivid footnote. AMD and Intel both rose approximately 25% for the week, memory chip manufacturer Micron surged more than 37%, and fiber optic cable manufacturer Corning climbed about 18%. The stock prices of these four companies have all more than doubled year-to-date, with Intel leading the pack with a gain of over 200%. In contrast, NVIDIA has risen only about 15% this year, performing roughly in line with the Nasdaq Composite Index. Mizuho analyst Jordan Klein characterized this phenomenon as a "changing of the guard" in the AI sector. Behind the shift in market logic lies the new hardware demand spawned by the evolution of AI applications from chatbots to AI agents, as well as the supply-demand mismatch triggered by the global shortage of memory chips. ## Memory Shortage Propels Micron to Record Highs The structural shortage in the memory market is one of the core drivers of this rally. Micron's market capitalization surpassed $800 billion for the first time this week, with its stock price accumulating a gain of over 750% in the past year. In an interview with CNBC in March, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated that due to tight supply, major customers are currently receiving only "50% to two-thirds" of their demand. In a report to clients, Jordan Klein pointed out that when the market rapidly enters a state of substantial shortage, with prices soaring while costs rise only moderately, investors who overweight the cyclical upturn in memory will reap rich rewards. "New capacity cannot keep up quickly; the logic is that simple." The global memory market is primarily dominated by three players: Micron, South Korea's Samsung, and SK Hynix, with the latter two also experiencing historic gains. ## AI Agent Wave Reignites Demand for CPUs As the focus of AI applications shifts from large model training to agent deployment, the strategic value of central processing units (CPUs) is returning. Bank of America estimates that the data center CPU market size could grow from $27 billion in 2025 to $60 billion in 2030, representing more than a doubling in expansion. AMD's earnings report this week comprehensively exceeded expectations, driven by strong growth in its data center business. During the earnings call, CEO Lisa Su stated that AMD now expects the server CPU market to grow by 35% over the next three to five years, significantly higher than the 18% forecast given last November. In an interview with CNBC, she said, "Agents are driving huge demand throughout the AI adoption cycle, and we are very excited to be part of it." Goldman Sachs and Bernstein subsequently upgraded AMD to Buy, citing structural tailwinds in CPU demand. JPMorgan analysts stated that AMD's earnings "clarified the structural inflection point occurring in the growth trajectory of server CPUs and data center accelerators." ## Intel Stages Strong Recovery on Apple Order News Intel's rebound has been particularly notable. This chip giant, which had seriously lagged behind in the AI wave, is undergoing a recovery driven by massive investments from the U.S. government. Intel's stock price recorded its largest monthly gain in history in April, doubling in value, and continued to rise by 33% in early May. According to Bloomberg, Apple is in talks with Intel and Samsung to produce main processors for its U.S. devices, news that pushed Intel's stock price up 13% in a single day. Subsequently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel and Apple had reached an agreement for Intel to manufacture some processors for Apple devices, sending Intel's stock up another 14%. Representatives from both Intel and Apple declined to comment. ## Corning Signs Major Fiber Optic Deal with NVIDIA In the new landscape of AI infrastructure, fiber optic technology has also become a significant beneficiary. Glass and fiber optic manufacturer Corning signed a major cooperation agreement with NVIDIA this week, involving the construction of three new factories in the United States specifically to serve NVIDIA's optical technology needs, with NVIDIA securing investment rights of up to $3.2 billion. This collaboration is seen as a key step in NVIDIA's transition from copper cables to fiber optic cables to support the expansion of its rack-level systems. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC, "We will expand fiber optic capacity on a scale never before seen in the optical industry," describing the current economy as undergoing "the largest single infrastructure build-out in human history." Earlier this year, Corning also signed a $6 billion fiber optic supply agreement with Meta, covering supplies through 2030. ## Bubble Warnings Emerge as Analysts Highlight Correction Risks However, some analysts have begun to compare this semiconductor rally to the internet bubble era. In a recent report, BTIG analyst Jonathan Krinsky pointed out that the magnitude of gains in the semiconductor sector is identical to that of 1999, warning that the PHLX Semiconductor Index faces a correction risk of 25% to 30%—the index has already accumulated a 66% gain year-to-date. "We have repeatedly written about how extreme the semiconductor rally has been—in many cases, such conditions have not been seen since the internet bubble," he wrote. "To some extent, this rally is actually more extreme than it was then." This warning reminds investors that while the long-term logic of AI infrastructure construction remains valid, short-term valuation pressures and risks revealed by historical precedents cannot be ignored. ### Related Stocks - [MU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MU.US.md) - [NVDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDA.US.md) - [INTC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INTC.US.md) - [AMD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMD.US.md) - [AMUU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMUU.US.md) - [SOXX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXX.US.md) - [FTXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FTXL.US.md) - [NVDX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDX.US.md) - [PSI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PSI.US.md) - [SOXQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXQ.US.md) - [SOXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXL.US.md) - [AMDL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMDL.US.md) - [NVDU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDU.US.md) - [SMH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMH.US.md) - [INTW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INTW.US.md) - [XSD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XSD.US.md) - [NVDL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDL.US.md) - [GLW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLW.US.md) - [SSNGY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SSNGY.US.md) - [AAPL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPL.US.md) - [META.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/META.US.md) - [NVD.DE](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVD.DE.md) - [SMSN.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMSN.UK.md) ## Related News & Research - [AMD vs. Intel: Inside the Chip War, This Analyst Picks a Side](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285786685.md) - [As CPUs Steal the Show, AMD Stock Just Got a New Street-High Price Target](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285755601.md) - [AMD stock rockets 7% on Friday: analysts see more upside ahead](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285741019.md) - [AMD Will Focus on Diverse Offerings as CEO Lisa States Data Centers Will 'Need a Broad Portfolio of CPUs"](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285416602.md) - [AMD Q1 results should get boost from 'strong AI demand,' Wedbush says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285073524.md)