Stocks · News reference
Chip stocks are up 89% this year, and the best stretch of their calendar starts now. Since 2001, SOXX has gained an average 12.5% from October to February, and Bank of America just named its five top picks for the season.
Reference Details
Poisar stores the source's headline, summary and market tags for reference. Reporting and full article text remain with the original publisher.
Keep reading
Trump is ruling out nationalizing AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, but may take an equity stake instead, modeled on the Intel deal.
Applied Materials and AMD offer different exposure to AI semiconductor demand. Applied Materials supplies chip manufacturing equipment with a lower valuation (P/E 23.4x) and improving growth trajectory, while AMD designs processors with faster 2025 revenue growth (34.3%) but faces potential shareholder dilution from OpenAI and Meta warrants covering ~20% of shares outstanding. The author recommends Applied Materials as the better buy, though both stocks have merit for long-term diversified portfolios.
The AI boom is driving semiconductor valuations to historic highs, pushing top chipmakers past $1T as hyperscaler spending surges.
The Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) has returned 32.7% year-to-date in 2026, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 12.2% gain, driven by AI-related tech stocks. However, the article cautions against overconcentration in tech due to emerging risks including potential data center legislation and a shift toward cheaper AI models that could reduce chip demand.