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AMD Surpasses $1 Trillion Market Value, Driving Semiconductor Stocks Up as Market Bets Again on AI

Tech companies22 Sep 2026 11:47 GMT+7

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AMD Surpasses $1 Trillion Market Value, Driving Semiconductor Stocks Up as Market Bets Again on AI

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) has become the latest chip company to enter the “1 Trillion Club” after its market capitalization exceeded $1 trillion USD, roughly 32 trillion baht, for the first time. This milestone followed a nearly 10% surge in its stock price on 21 Sep 2026, reaching an intraday high of $615.52 per share before closing around $613. Year to date, AMD’s shares have risen over 180%.

AMD Stock Performance YTD , TradingView

This movement was not limited to AMD; it reflected a strong resurgence in semiconductor stocks. On the same day, Intel shares rose about 12%, Arm Holdings increased by more than 15%, and shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturers Applied Materials (AMAT) and Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS) also climbed.

AMD’s recent momentum is driven by its strategic shift from being primarily a CPU and GPU maker to a more comprehensive player in the AI Infrastructure market, offering products ranging from CPUs and GPUs to processing systems and infrastructure for Data Centers.

Earnings figures illustrate this transformation clearly. In Q2 2026, AMD reported total revenue of approximately $11.54 billion, up 50% year-over-year. Revenue from its Data Center business reached $6.7 billion, an increase of 107%, driven mainly by strong demand. This demand centered on AMD EPYC Server CPUs and the Instinct GPU family.

Currently, Data Centers are no longer just a supplementary business for AMD but have become one of its main growth engines, accounting for about 58% of total revenue in the quarter. AMD also expects significant continued growth in this segment through 2027, with expanding demand for Server CPUs and AI Accelerators fueled by investments from Cloud providers and Hyperscalers.

Another factor distinguishing AMD now from its past is the acquisition of major technology company customers supporting AI Infrastructure expansion. AMD has multi-year agreements with OpenAI to install up to 6 gigawatts of GPUs, with the first phase of 1 gigawatt scheduled to start in the second half of 2026 using the Instinct MI450 GPU family.

Similarly, Meta has contracted with AMD for up to 6 gigawatts of GPU capacity, with the initial systems deploying GPUs based on the MI450 architecture alongside 6th-generation EPYC CPUs and Rack-scale AI Infrastructure named Helios, expected to be delivered in the latter half of 2026.

Although AMD’s market value still trails significantly behind Nvidia—the AI chip market leader with a market capitalization of about $5.4 trillion and the dominant player in AI Data Center chips—these figures highlight AMD’s growing role in the AI and Data Center chip markets, which are among the highest-investment sectors in today’s tech industry.

,  Asia Plus Securities  viewed the semiconductor stock rally as a sign that investors are once again focusing on AI growth, especially the belief that AI Data Center investments are ongoing. The market no longer sees AMD solely as a CPU/GPU manufacturer but increasingly weights AI as a core long-term business. This is supported by large AI Data Center deals with OpenAI and Meta, as well as the launch of MI450 and Helios infrastructure, which are expected to impact other suppliers in the semiconductor supply chain.

However, Asia Plus noted that AMD’s stock price rally has largely priced in these positive factors, recommending a “hold” position. In contrast, semiconductor equipment makers like AMAT and NVTS are seen as beneficiaries of AI investments with further upside potential according to the brokerage.

AI Agents Are Shifting the Market from GPU to CPU

AMD’s progression from a CPU/GPU alternative provider to a key supplier of infrastructure for major tech companies aligns with a broader market theme: the transition from the AI Training era to AI Inference and Agentic AI.

While training large AI models still heavily relies on GPUs, increased real-world AI applications—especially AI Agents that perform multi-step tasks like planning, tool invocation, and coordination—are driving rising CPU demand. This expands AMD’s opportunity beyond AI GPUs to include Server CPUs and processing systems for Data Centers.

AMD data indicates the Server CPU market could grow to approximately $220 billion by 2030, while the AI Accelerator market for Data Centers may expand to around $1.4 trillion.

Moreover, since AI Data Center investments are expected to continue, the positive impact extends beyond GPU and CPU developers. Building a Data Center requires numerous components and systems, including semiconductors, advanced packaging, memory, networking, power, and manufacturing equipment.

Therefore, as Hyperscalers and Cloud providers continue investing in AI Infrastructure, companies throughout the supply chain stand to benefit. This explains why AMD’s stock surge coincided with gains in other chip and semiconductor equipment stocks such as Intel, Arm, AMAT, and NVTS.


Source information CNBC , Yahoo Finance

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