AMD and Intel ride broader AI infrastructure shift

AMD and Intel have both delivered triple-digit returns in 2026 as investors broaden AI infrastructure exposure beyond Nvidia and pure-play accelerators. AMD shares have surged roughly 113% year to date, supported by stronger demand for EPYC server processors, Instinct accelerators and rack-scale systems tied to agentic AI workloads.

Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold upgraded AMD to Strong Buy and raised his price target to $641 from $565, citing data center positioning and server CPU share gains. AMD reported data center revenue up 107% year over year to $6.7 billion in the second quarter, while total quarterly revenue rose 50% year over year to $11.54 billion. EPYC sales increased more than 70% year over year, and AMD’s server share rose to 34.5%, while Intel’s declined to 65.5%.

Intel is also gaining traction as AI spending expands into purpose-built silicon, AI PCs and edge systems. Purpose-built silicon revenues increased about 20% sequentially and nearly tripled year over year, reaching an estimated $2 billion run rate, while management is targeting $4 billion in the not-too-distant future. Risks remain from custom silicon competition, Nvidia wins and slower agentic AI adoption, but CPUs, ASICs, packaging and full-system infrastructure are becoming central to the next phase of AI spending.