Micron Technology, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices added roughly $2 trillion in combined market capitalization during the second quarter as investors expanded their AI holdings beyond Nvidia.
By market capitalization, all three now rank among the top dozen U.S. technology companies, at positions 10, 11, and 12
Of the three, Micron posted the steepest climb at over 240%, a run that translated to roughly $920 billion in added market value. A 216% surge lifted Intel’s market cap by approximately $480 billion, and AMD’s shares came close to tripling in value, contributing $615 billion to its total worth. “The rotation out of AI hyperscalers into AI enablers has shifted investors’ euphoria into semis, driving spectacular rallies,” Barclays analyst Anshul Gupta wrote in a note on Tuesday, according to CNBC. Results released last week showed that revenue at Micron — one of just three global producers of computer memory — grew more than fourfold in its most recent quarter, propelled by surging prices that AI chipmakers are paying for memory.
Third-quarter gross margin expanded dramatically, moving from 39% the prior year to 84.9%. Domestic semiconductor factory construction is a central part of Intel’s strategy, and the longstanding CPU maker has also caught a tailwind from growing demand for its processors as AI workloads increasingly run on consumer devices. Competing against Intel in the CPU space, AMD has likewise expanded into graphics processing units, a segment where Nvidia continues to hold a commanding lead.