Intel, AMD, and Micron Surge Double Digits in a Week as Wall Street Calls an AI Chip "Changing of the Guard"

Intel ($INTC), AMD ($AMD), and Micron ($MU) all surged double digits in the week ended May 8, 2026, as Wall Street moved to reprice legacy chipmakers as the primary beneficiaries of the next AI infrastructure wave. Nvidia ($NVDA) lagged during the same period. Wells Fargo analyst Jordan Klein and others characterized the rotation as a "changing of the guard in AI" — a shift from the GPU-centric first wave toward CPU and memory companies powering AI inference and edge computing.

The primary catalyst for Intel was a reported preliminary agreement with Apple ($AAPL) for Intel's Foundry Services (IFS) to manufacture chips for Apple devices, per the Wall Street Journal. If confirmed, this would represent Intel's first significant external foundry win and aligns with the U.S. semiconductor supply chain diversification strategy reducing TSMC reliance.

AMD rallied on expanding AI inference demand and continued data center CPU market share gains. Micron's move was driven by HBM tailwinds: CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has stated that AI demand is consuming all available HBM production capacity. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660.KS) — both HBM suppliers — also saw sympathy gains on the Korean market.

Nvidia's relative underperformance reflects elevated valuation concerns and growing structural questions about whether large-scale AI inference workloads will shift toward custom accelerators (ASICs) and CPU-based architectures. Alphabet ($GOOGL) and Meta ($META) have both announced proprietary AI chip plans, representing a long-term headwind for Nvidia's data center GPU franchise.

Key events ahead: Nvidia's Q1 FY2027 earnings (late May), Micron's HBM4 production timeline, and any formal announcement of the Apple-Intel IFS agreement. iShares SOXX ETF constituent dynamics will be worth monitoring as the market narrows focus from AI training to AI deployment infrastructure.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.