Intel and AMD shares came under heavy selling pressure on Tuesday as investors reassessed the outlook for the semiconductor industry amid China’s rapid advances in memory chips and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Intel INTC stock fell about 6%, while AMD declined roughly 8%, extending a broader selloff across global semiconductor stocks.
The weakness followed sharp declines in Asian markets, where South Korea’s Kospi dropped 10%, and Japan’s Nikkei fell 4% as chipmakers came under pressure.
The latest pullback comes as investors grapple with rising competition from China, concerns over mounting AI infrastructure spending, and uncertainty ahead of earnings from major US technology companies.
China’s CXMT reshapes memory market outlook
A key catalyst behind the semiconductor selloff was the blockbuster market debut of Chinese memory-chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).
The company raised 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) in its Shanghai initial public offering, making it Asia’s largest listing of 2026.
Shares then surged 466% on their trading debut, pushing the company’s market capitalization to roughly $487 billion and making it the most valuable company listed on mainland Chinese exchanges.
The strong debut highlighted growing optimism surrounding China’s semiconductor ambitions and intensified concerns that domestic Chinese manufacturers could increasingly challenge established global memory suppliers.
Apple has reportedly begun testing CXMT memory chips for devices sold within China, while the company could gain additional customers if US restrictions on its products are eased.
Nomura analyst Donnie Teng expects further gains as AI demand accelerates.
“We expect CXMT’s market share gain to accelerate considering that the global supply of memory is unlikely to ease in the coming years.”
He added: “Strong demand for agentic AI will drive a more than sevenfold increase in global memory usage” by 2030.
Morningstar also said CXMT is well positioned to benefit from China’s efforts to build a self-reliant semiconductor industry despite remaining behind global leaders technologically.
AI spending concerns weigh on semiconductor stocks
Investor sentiment has also weakened amid growing scrutiny over artificial intelligence spending by major technology companies.
A Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia could provide roughly $250 billion in financing support for OpenAI’s planned data center project raised fresh questions about how aggressively semiconductor companies are investing in AI infrastructure and their own customers.
Intel, during its results, increased its capex outlook from $18 billion to $20 billion for 2026 and added that it would shoot further up for 2027.
The report came ahead of earnings from Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Apple, with investors expected to closely examine whether massive AI investments are producing adequate returns.
Growing competition from China has added another layer of uncertainty after reports emerged that Chinese companies have begun producing advanced chipmaking equipment domestically.
AMD expands AI infrastructure despite selloff
Despite Tuesday’s decline, AMD continued expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure footprint.
The company announced an agreement with Core Scientific to secure access to as much as 2.5 gigawatts of AI-ready data center capacity.
The partnership initially provides AMD customers access to more than 500 megawatts of capacity beginning in 2027, with room for future expansion.
Core Scientific, which has increasingly shifted from cryptocurrency mining toward AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, will also collaborate with AMD on physical data center design as well as deployment of AMD chips and software.
Wall Street analysts remain largely optimistic on AMD despite the recent weakness.
Among 45 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is “Strong Buy,” including 35 Strong Buy ratings, two Moderate Buys and eight Holds.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh recently reiterated a Buy rating while raising his price target to $625, implying approximately 26.3% upside from current levels.
For Intel, the Wall Street consensus is Moderate Buy, based on 11 Strong Buy ratings, one Moderate Buy, 31 Holds, and two Strong Sells among the 45 analysts covering the stock.
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