AMD Soars on AI Boom; Oil Tumbles on U.S.-Iran Deal Hopes
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Morning brief: AMD Soars on AI Demand; Shopify Tumbles on Growth Fears
Good morning. Futures are pointing to a green open, lifted by easing geopolitical tensions as hopes for a US-Iran peace deal cause oil prices to fall. The real engine this morning, however, is tech, and the semiconductor space is electric. Your core holding, AMD, is the star of the show, soaring roughly 18% in pre-market trading after delivering blowout Q1 earnings and forecasting revenue well above expectations. The incredible demand comes from the AI data center boom, with the company expecting its server revenue to surge over 70% in the current quarter, directly challenging Nvidia's dominance. While the AI chip party rages, it's a different story for software. Shopify (SHOP) is a prime example of the market's brutal "what's next" attitude, plunging about 16% despite crushing its Q1 earnings with 34% revenue growth. The sell-off is a reaction to Q2 guidance that, while strong, signaled a slight growth deceleration that spooked investors. Elsewhere, Uber is up in pre-market trading after reporting solid first-quarter results, including a 20% jump in trips and strong gross bookings. Amazon is also continuing its run, building on yesterday's gains related to the US-China tariff truce as it closes in on the exclusive $3 trillion market cap club. Today's session looks to be driven by a risk-on appetite for tech, but the sharp divergence between names like AMD and SHOP shows investors are rewarding only exceptional forward guidance and punishing anything less.
Evening brief: AMD Soars on AI Boom; Oil Tumbles on U.S.-Iran Deal Hopes
The market's AI fever dream turned into a full-blown mania today, with AMD lighting the fuse for a massive rally across the semiconductor space. AMD skyrocketed an incredible 18.6% after it obliterated earnings expectations and issued a blockbuster forecast, driven by what CEO Lisa Su called "accelerating demand for AI infrastructure." This wasn't just an AMD story; the blowout results confirmed the AI spending boom is even larger than anticipated, lifting the entire sector. Your other big semi holdings like NVIDIA, TSM, and Micron all rode the wave, posting gains of 5.7%, 6.4%, and 4.1% respectively, which in turn powered the SMH and SOXX semiconductor ETFs up over 5%. Uber also had a strong day, jumping 8.5% after its own earnings report, where it beat profit estimates and showed continued strong growth in gross bookings, reassuring investors about consumer demand. The broader market was also lifted by a significant drop in oil prices, which tumbled over 7% on hopes of a potential U.S.-Iran agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That sent the USO ETF down sharply but boosted sentiment across the equity markets, which now see a path to easing inflation. While most of your watchlist rallied, Bloom Energy gave back 3.3%, a likely breather after its monumental 1,600%+ one-year run. Overall, today's session was a powerful confirmation of the AI-driven bull narrative, leaving investors to watch if the tech sector can maintain this torrid momentum.
The day's moves on the ledger
No slate changes were logged this day.