NEW YORK, February 21, 2026, 11:39 (EST) — Market closed
- AMD closed down 1.6% on Friday at $200.15.
- A report said AMD will backstop a $300 million loan for Crusoe tied to purchases of AMD AI chips.
- Investors now eye Nvidia’s results next week and AMD’s March 3 conference appearance.
Advanced Micro Devices shares ended down 1.6% on Friday at $200.15 after a report said the chip designer is set to backstop a $300 million loan for cloud startup Crusoe to buy and deploy AMD’s artificial intelligence chips. AMD has agreed to lease back the chips if Crusoe cannot line up customers, the report said. (Reuters)
The structure matters because it sits right on the fault line investors have been arguing about: how much of the AI buildout is pulled by end demand, and how much is being pushed along by financing. For AMD, it is also a visible attempt to seed deployments as it fights for a bigger slice of the data-center AI market.
With U.S. markets shut for the weekend, traders head into Monday looking for follow-through — either more detail on the Crusoe arrangement or signs it turns into a template. Some investors see these deals as a way to accelerate adoption. Others see a risk that sales are getting pulled forward.
Crusoe took out the Goldman Sachs loan to buy AMD chips for a campus it is building in Springfield, Ohio, with the chips used as collateral, Data Center Dynamics reported. The publication said AMD agreed to rent the chips back if Crusoe cannot find customers, a support step that helped Crusoe secure an interest rate of about 6%. (Data Center Dynamics)
Friday’s move left AMD lagging even as the broader market rose. The S&P 500 gained 0.69% and the Dow added 0.47% in the session, while Nvidia rose 1.0% and Intel fell 1.1%, MarketWatch data showed. (MarketWatch)
A separate U.S. securities filing also showed a small insider sale. Ava Hahn, AMD’s senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, sold 286 shares at $198.65 on Feb. 18 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan — a pre-arranged trading program used to schedule sales — and held 17,216 shares after the transaction. (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
Next week’s calendar is heavy enough to steer the whole AI trade, not just AMD. Nvidia reports results on Wednesday, and investors will lean hard on its forecast and CEO commentary for clues on spending by the biggest AI customers. “It’s hard for Nvidia to surprise when everyone expects it to surprise,” said Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower. “Jensen has to come out and show his confidence in his own customers,” said Nick Giorgi, chief equity strategist at Alpine Macro. (Reuters)
The risk for AMD is straightforward: if Crusoe struggles to fill capacity, AMD’s leaseback promise could draw fresh questions about the quality and durability of demand, and whether similar financing moves are masking a slower uptake. Any wobble in Nvidia’s outlook could also spill into other AI-linked chip names, even without company-specific news.
Another near-term focus for AMD investors is March 3, when the company is scheduled to appear at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
