Shift in AI Infrastructure Investment Trends: AMD, Intel, and Micron Surge as Nvidia’s Halo Fades

Wall Street is undergoing a profound restructuring of the logic behind AI investments. Once dominant NVIDIA is being marginalized by investors, with large amounts of capital now flowing into previously overlooked chip and hardware companies such as Intel, AMD, and Micron, signaling a broader market wager on the long-term construction of AI infrastructure. This week’s market performance offered the clearest illustration. AMD and Intel both saw weekly gains of about 25%. Memory chip manufacturer Micron soared over 37%, and fiber optic cable maker Corning rose about 18%. All four companies’ share prices have more than doubled since the beginning of the year, with Intel leading with an increase of over 200%. In contrast, NVIDIA has risen only about 15% this year, roughly tracking the Nasdaq index. Mizuho analyst Jordan Klein describes this phenomenon as a “power transfer” in the AI field. Behind the shift in market logic is new hardware demand driven by the evolution of AI applications from chatbots to AI agents, as well as supply-demand mismatches triggered by a global memory chip shortage. Memory Shortage Drives Micron to Record Highs Structural memory shortages are one of the core drivers of this cycle. Micron’s market value broke $800 billion for the first time this week, with shares having climbed more than 750% over the past year. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a CNBC interview in March that due to supply constraints, major clients currently receive only “50% to two-thirds” of their required volumes. Jordan Klein stated in a client report that when the market rapidly enters a meaningful shortage and prices surge but costs only rise moderately, investors who are overweight in memory during cyclical upturns stand to gain substantial returns. “New capacity cannot ramp up quickly enough—the logic is that simple.” The global memory market is mainly dominated by Micron, South Korea’s Samsung, and SK Hynix, with the latter two also experiencing historic rallies. AI Agents Revitalize CPU Demand As AI application focus shifts from large model training to agent deployment, the strategic importance of central processing units (CPUs) is returning. Bank of America predicts the data center CPU market could expand from $27 billion in 2025 to $60 billion by 2030, more than doubling. AMD’s earnings this week exceeded expectations across the board, with strong growth in its data center business. CEO Lisa Su stated in the earnings call that AMD now expects the server CPU market to grow 35% over the next three to five years, far outpacing November’s prior forecast of 18%. In a CNBC interview, 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 promptly upgraded AMD to “buy,” both citing structural tailwinds for CPU demand. JPMorgan analysts commented that AMD’s earnings “clarified the structural inflection point underway in server CPUs and data center accelerators.” Intel Rebounds Strongly on Apple Order News Intel’s resurgence is particularly noteworthy. Having fallen significantly behind in the AI boom, the chip giant is experiencing a revival, fueled largely by massive US government investment. In April, Intel’s stock posted its biggest monthly gain ever, doubling, and continued to rise another 33% in early May. According to Bloomberg, Apple is in talks with Intel and Samsung to produce main processors for its US devices, sending Intel’s stock up 13% in a single day. The Wall Street Journal later reported Intel and Apple had reached an agreement for Intel to supply some chips for Apple devices, boosting Intel shares another 14%. Representatives from both companies declined to comment. Corning Signs Major Fiber Deal with NVIDIA Fiber optic technology is also emerging as a significant beneficiary in the new AI infrastructure map. Glass and fiber maker Corning signed a major agreement with NVIDIA this week to build three factories in the US dedicated to NVIDIA’s optical technology needs, with NVIDIA receiving up to $3.2 billion in investment rights. This collaboration is seen as a key step in NVIDIA’s transition from copper cables to fiber optic cables, supporting expansion at the rack-level system scale. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC, “We will expand fiber capacity at a scale never seen before in the optics industry,” and said the current economy is undergoing “the largest single infrastructure build in human history.” Corning also signed a $6 billion fiber supply deal—lasting through 2030—with Meta earlier this year. Bubble Warning Emerges, Analysts Signal Pullback Risks However, some analysts are beginning to compare this semiconductor rally to the dot-com bubble era. BTIG analyst Jonathan Krinsky noted in a recent report that the scale of gains in the semiconductor sector mirrors those of 1999 and warned the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index faces a 25% to 30% correction risk—the index is up 66% this year. “We have written repeatedly about how extreme the semiconductor rally is—something not seen since the internet bubble, in many cases,” he wrote. “In some respects, this round of gains is actually more extreme than then.” This warning reminds investors that while the logic of long-term AI infrastructure construction remains intact, near-term valuation pressure and historical precedent for risks should not be ignored. Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market is risky, and investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account individual users’ distinct investment goals, financial circumstances, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions herein are suited to their particular situation. Investing based on this is at your own risk.