Despite being one of the biggest winners of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, chip giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is facing an unexpected vote of caution from one of Wall Street's most closely watched growth investors. AMD has been on a remarkable run, delivering triple-digit gains so far in 2026 as demand for its AI and data center chips continues to explode. Strong earnings, expanding partnerships with tech giants, and market-share gains against rivals such as Intel (INTC) and Nvidia (NVDA) have further helped cement its status as a leading AI play.
That makes the latest move from Cathie Wood all the more surprising. Wood, whose investment strategy is built around disruptive technologies, has been steadily reducing her firm's AMD position. Last week, ARK Invest sold about 80,536 AMD shares across its Ark Autonomous Tech and Robotics ETF (ARKQ), Ark Newxt Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and Ark Space Exploration and Innovation ETF (ARKX), a stake worth roughly $40 million. The transaction continues a broader trend of ARK trimming its exposure to the chipmaker even as AMD's business momentum remains strong.
More Top Stocks Daily: Go behind Wall Street’s hottest headlines with Barchart’s Active Investor newsletter.
But AMD wasn't the only stock sacrificed. ARK has been reshuffling its portfolio to free up capital for a much bigger opportunity that has captured investors' attention: SpaceX (SPCX). Following SpaceX's blockbuster public debut, ARK snapped up approximately 3.29 million shares on June 12, investing about $444 million after the stock priced at $135 and surged to $160.95 by the close of its first trading session. The move highlights where Wood sees the next wave of potentially transformative growth.
Still, investors shouldn't mistake the AMD sales for an outright bearish call. Despite the recent trimming, AMD remains one of ARK's largest holdings. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at AMD and whether its AI-driven growth story still has room to run.
About AMD Stock
Based in California, Advanced Micro Devices has established itself as one of the world's leading semiconductor innovators, developing GPUs, microprocessors, and high-performance computing solutions that power some of the fastest-growing markets, including gaming, data centers, and artificial intelligence. Its technology touches billions of lives daily, supporting everything from Fortune 500 enterprises to cutting-edge scientific research that is reshaping how the world works, plays, and innovates.
AMD's AI ambitions are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. A growing number of enterprises are adopting the company's Instinct MI300-series accelerators for data-center and AI-training workloads, positioning AMD as one of the most credible challengers to Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market. Meanwhile, the company is also gaining traction in the emerging AI PC segment through its Ryzen AI Max and Strix Halo processors, which combine powerful Zen CPU cores, integrated RDNA graphics, and dedicated NPUs to bring AI capabilities directly onto devices.
With a market capitalization of roughly $892.36 billion, AMD is attracting growing investor attention as its AI ambitions continue to gain momentum. Shares jumped nearly 7% and reached a record high of $558.37 on June 15 after the company announced the acquisition of MEXT, an AI-driven memory optimization technology firm. The deal is expected to help AMD mitigate rising memory costs while further strengthening its AI infrastructure capabilities.
Management said the acquisition expands AMD's AI portfolio and will enable data-center customers to improve performance, lower ownership costs, and accelerate deployment timelines. AMD also benefited from a broader rally across memory and storage chip stocks after the U.S. and Iran announced a peace agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over potential supply-chain disruptions and boosting sentiment across the semiconductor sector.
AMD's stock has dramatically outpaced the broader market. Over the past 52 weeks, shares have skyrocketed an eye-popping 310.2%, leaving the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 24.76% gain far behind. The momentum has been just as impressive in 2026, with AMD surging 142.1% year-to-date (YTD), compared to the benchmark index's modest 9.95% advance over the same period. Even after its massive rally, the stock remains remarkably resilient, trading just 7.15% below its recent all-time high, a sign that investors continue to bet heavily on AMD's AI-driven growth story.
www.barchart.com Inside AMD’s Q1 Earnings Report
AMD gave investors yet another reason to stay bullish when it delivered a blockbuster fiscal 2026 first-quarter earnings report on May 5. The results comfortably topped Wall Street's expectations on both revenue and earnings, triggering an 18.6% surge in the stock during the following trading session. Revenue climbed 38% year-over-year (YOY) to $10.25 billion, well ahead of analysts' expectations of $9.92 billion and significantly above the $7.44 billion generated in the same quarter last year. Profit growth was equally impressive.
Non-GAAP earnings per share rose 43% to $1.37, beating consensus estimates of $1.29, while GAAP net income nearly doubled to $1.38 billion. The strong bottom-line performance highlighted AMD's ability to translate surging demand into expanding profitability. The biggest driver of AMD's stellar quarter was once again its Data Center business, which has firmly established itself as the company's primary growth engine.
Segment revenue surged 57% YOY to $5.78 billion, fueled by robust demand for EPYC server processors and increasing shipments of Instinct AI accelerators. Strength wasn't limited to the data center market. AMD's Client and Gaming businesses also delivered solid results, generating a combined $3.61 billion in revenue, up 23% from a year earlier.
The Client segment produced $2.9 billion in revenue, representing 26% annual growth, driven by strong demand for Ryzen processors and continued market-share gains. Meanwhile, Gaming revenue rose 11% to $720 million as healthy Radeon GPU demand more than offset weakness in semi-custom products. Margins continued moving in the right direction as well. AMD's non-GAAP gross margin expanded to 55%, up from 54% in the year-ago period, reflecting the growing contribution of its higher-margin AI and data-center products.
Management pointed to accelerating demand for AI infrastructure as the key force behind the company's performance. The rapid adoption of AI inferencing and agentic AI workloads is driving increased demand for high-performance CPUs and accelerators, while customer interest in AMD's next-generation MI450 Series and Helios platforms continues to strengthen. In addition, the company noted that forecasts from several major customers are exceeding its initial expectations, providing greater visibility into future growth.
Looking ahead, AMD expects the momentum to continue. For the second quarter of fiscal 2026, management forecast revenue of approximately $11.2 billion, plus or minus $300 million. At the midpoint, that guidance implies YOY growth of roughly 46% and sequential growth of about 9%. Further, AMD expects non-GAAP gross margin to improve further to approximately 56%, underscoring confidence that demand for its AI and data-center products remains exceptionally strong.
How Are Analysts Viewing AMD Stock?
Cathie Wood may be trimming her AMD stake, but Wall Street is sending a very different message. Analysts remain overwhelmingly bullish on the AI chipmaker, with AMD earning a consensus "Strong Buy" rating. Of the 45 analysts covering the stock, 34 recommend "Strong Buy," two rate it "Moderate Buy," eight suggest "Hold," and only one carries a "Strong Sell" recommendation.
In fact, AMD's rally has been so powerful that the stock has already surpassed the Street's average price target of $472.07. Even so, analysts continue to see upside ahead. The most optimistic target on Wall Street sits at $665, implying another 27.8% gain from current levels and highlighting the market's continued confidence in AMD's ability to capitalize on the AI revolution.
www.barchart.com 
www.barchart.com On the date of publication, Anushka Mukherji did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
More news from Barchart
This Lesser-Known Stock Is a ‘Bunker’ for Your Capital Thanks to Technical Strength The Battle of the Musks: Why Cathie Wood Sold Tesla Stock to Buy SpaceX The Dell Story Is No Longer Just About PCs. Here’s Why the Stock Still Looks Undervalued. CVNA Stock Alert: What to Know as Carvana Expands Into New Vehicles