NEW YORK, May 10, 2026, 09:03 EDT
- AMD’s gains after earnings could hit a snag, as Intel has reportedly landed a tentative chip manufacturing agreement with Apple.
- Intel’s foundry ambitions might reshape how investors size up the AMD-Intel rivalry in AI servers and domestic chip production.
- Wall Street’s still backing AMD, but at this valuation, any stumble has less cushion.
Advanced Micro Devices’ strong run is hitting a fresh snag tied to Intel. Now, investors have to juggle AMD’s AI server gains with a reported Apple manufacturing agreement that might boost faith in Intel’s foundry—or contract chipmaking—operations.
The clock’s ticking. AMD delivered upbeat results and bumped up its outlook for AI-fueled server sales. Intel, meanwhile, jumped Friday, buoyed by a Wall Street Journal story flagging a tentative chipmaking agreement with Apple. With U.S. markets shuttered Sunday morning, traders are left waiting for the next move once trading kicks back in. AMD finished at $455.19, a gain of 11.4%. Intel closed at $124.92, up 13.9%.
Apple and Intel haven’t confirmed the rumored deal, but if it goes through, Intel would score a marquee customer for its foundry business—bolstering Washington’s push for more domestic chip manufacturing. Both companies told Reuters they had no comment. Details are still murky, including which Apple devices would use Intel chips, Reuters noted.
AMD is holding its ground. First-quarter revenue jumped 38% to $10.3 billion, the company reported. Data-center sales surged 57% to $5.8 billion, driven by strong appetite for EPYC server CPUs and Instinct graphics chips. “Outstanding first quarter,” CEO Lisa Su said, citing “accelerating demand for AI infrastructure.” Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Where AI investment heads from here is the key question. CPUs—the backbone chips in servers—keep the lights on, but it’s GPUs that handle the computational weight AI demands. Nvidia, AMD, and Intel are each chasing a bigger slice of the move into so-called “agentic AI,” a type of software built to tackle jobs with minimal oversight and a hunger for massive compute power.
Patrick Moorhead, who leads Moor Insights & Strategy as chief executive and chief analyst, summed up his CNBC spot by calling the market’s upbeat reaction to AMD “appropriate.” He pointed to a solid earnings beat and sees more room for AMD in the CPU market. Still, Moorhead warned about sharp competition coming from Nvidia, Intel and Arm in the data-center chip space. Moor Insights & Strategy
Here’s the snag for AMD: after years of picking up server CPU share thanks to Intel fumbling execution, the latest Xeon rebound looks like x86 rivalry is getting rougher, according to Summit Research’s note on Seeking Alpha. The analysts point to AMD’s MI400 Series and Helios platform—both set to pick up momentum in the back half of 2026—as a possible pivot from CPU-driven wins to something bigger in AI infrastructure.
Lynx Equity isn’t budging. “We continue to prefer Intel over Advanced Micro Devices,” the firm told TipRanks, pointing out that Intel’s foundry prospects might look a bit less shaky now, thanks to the Apple news. TipRanks noted AMD shares had soared roughly 42% in the five days following its earnings beat. Intel? Its stock made a similar jump after its own report and the Apple story. TipRanks
Some on Wall Street have shifted their stance on AMD. Goldman Sachs bumped the stock up to Buy and moved its price target sharply higher—to $450 from $240. Analyst James Schneider pointed to “tailwinds to its server CPU business” linked to agentic AI. Bernstein followed suit, upgrading AMD to Outperform and hiking its target to $525. Analyst Stacy Rasgon called AMD’s more ambitious server market outlook “potentially plausible.” Investing
Competition is moving quickly. Nvidia still leads the pack as the top AI GPU supplier; Arm is making a bigger play in data-center architectures, and TSMC is the manufacturing gold standard Intel wants to overtake. The issue for AMD boils down to this: can it leverage its CPU momentum and expanding GPU lineup to mount a lasting offensive in AI infrastructure, or is this just a single-quarter outperformance?
AMD shares surged to a record high Wednesday, according to Reuters, after the company’s outlook sparked fresh optimism for AI infrastructure demand, lifting semiconductor stocks across the board. AMD raised its annual growth estimate for its addressable server CPU market, projecting over 35% growth through 2030—nearly doubling its previous 18% target.
The danger is clear enough. That Apple-Intel deal? Still just an early-stage agreement. Product details haven’t been shared, and revenue from the foundry side could lag as process and design work unfolds. AMD’s valuation looks stretched after its surge—if there’s any stumble in execution, weak demand, or supply chain hiccup, investors might not be so patient.
Right now, AMD’s earnings picture remains clearer. Intel, on the other hand, brings a new catalyst to the table. That divide will probably set the tone for the chip-stock trade going forward: AMD needs to demonstrate its AI server surge isn’t just a flash, while Intel faces pressure to turn its rumored Apple deal into something tangible beyond the headline.
