Here’s something nobody had on their 2026 bingo card: Intel outperforming Nvidia. Not by a little, either. By a factor of roughly 14x.
Through the first half of 2026, Intel’s stock surged between 200% and 220% year-to-date, while AMD climbed approximately 114%. Nvidia, the company that basically became synonymous with the AI trade, managed a comparatively modest 15% gain. That’s its weakest first-half showing since 2022.
Nvidia still commands roughly 70% to 81% of the AI accelerator market by revenue. It’s not losing the war. But investors are clearly betting that the next phase of AI infrastructure won’t be a one-horse race.
CPUs are having their moment
AMD reported nearly $5.8 billion in data center revenue for Q1 2026, a 57% year-over-year increase. Intel’s data center and AI segment exceeded $5 billion in the same quarter.
