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Investing.com -- Shares of major semiconductor firms fell Wednesday after-hours when Nvidia Corp.’s closely watched quarterly results failed to fully satisfy lofty investor expectations, igniting concerns across the high-flying AI chip sector. Despite earnings topping Wall Street estimates, a slight shortfall in data center revenue weighed on sentiment.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. dropped 1.6%, Micron Technology Inc. fell 1.1%, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shed 0.8%, Broadcom Inc. declined 0.9%, and Intel Corp. slipped 0.3%. The sector-wide reversal came as Nvidia’s report underscored rising challenges facing AI chipmakers, particularly amid ongoing U.S.-China trade restrictions.
Nvidia’s stock fell about 2% in after-hours trading after reporting fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share on $46.7 billion in revenue, beating consensus forecasts of $1.01 and $46.1 billion. However, data center revenue,its largest and most critical division, came in at $41.1 billion, missing analysts’ projection of $41.34 billion.
Investors have come to view Nvidia as a bellwether for the generative AI boom, with its chips powering many leading AI applications. The slight shortfall in the data center segment raised questions about whether growth in the AI sector is peaking or merely facing geopolitical headwinds.
The company acknowledged that U.S. restrictions on its H20 chip sales to China, a significant market, have impacted revenues. While Nvidia’s forecast for fiscal Q2 revenue of $54 billion exceeded expectations of $52.76 billion, it excludes any contribution from those China-bound chips.
With AI valuations stretched and expectations high, any deviation from perfection can spark a swift market reaction. Investors are awaiting further commentary from Nvidia’s earnings call to get clarity on margins, demand pipelines, and geopolitical risk assessments.
Traders appeared eager to reevaluate broader chip sector positioning as volatility returned to semiconductor names. The disappointment in Nvidia’s data center unit, despite the strong headline results, highlights increasing scrutiny over the AI-led rally’s sustainability.
As the AI chip landscape evolves, market reaction underscores how priced-in future growth already is to semis. A narrow revenue miss from the industry’s leading player is enough to send shockwaves through the broader sector.