AMD and Intel surge 4%+ as investors widen AI trade beyond Nvidia

AMD reported record second-quarter revenue of $11.5 billion, up 50% year over year, with its Data Centre business accounting for 58% of revenue. Its portfolio includes MI450 AI accelerators, and sixth-generation EPYC processors. The number of hedge funds holding AMD also increased to 164 in Q2 2026 from 134 in Q1.

Intel’s Data Centre, and AI revenue reached $6.3 billion in the second quarter up 59% year over year. However, its adjusted free cash flow was negative $8.4 billion raising concern's about capital efficiency. The number of hedge funds holding Intel rose to 138 in Q2 2026 from 112 in Q1.

Read More:Digital Realty opens 6.4 MW Nairobi data centre as iColo rebrands

As of August 14, around 135.7 million Intel shares were sold short, equal to about 2.6% to 3% of the company’s available shares. This suggests Intel is not facing unusually high short-selling pressure.

The recent rally in AMD and Intel could point to growing investor interest beyond Nvidia, but the trend will depend on actual business performance. AMD needs to show strong demand for its rack-scale systems and improve software capabilities, while Intel needs to turn new capacity and design wins into better returns.

Nvidia can continue to grow even as AMD and Intel gain market share. Key signs to watch will be shipments, profit margins, and free cash flow.

The Q2 2026 database counted 138 hedge funds holding Intel, up from 112 in Q1 2026. AQR Capital Management held 10.7 million Intel shares after reducing its position by about 6% from the previous quarter.

Read More:Lithuanian-Based Surfshark acquires US data privacy firm Optery