TSM

Billionaire David Tepper used the second quarter to make a striking trade within the AI hardware chain. Appaloosa Management cut its Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) share count by 41.4%, while increasing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) for a sixth consecutive quarter. The filing does not disclose Tepper's rationale. The positions instead contrast a cyclical HBM supplier with a diversified advanced foundry serving nearly every major chip designer. That makes the comparison about earnings durability as much as exposure to total AI demand. Charles Knowles / Shutterstock.com Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) has a powerful rebuttal. It reported record fiscal third-quarter results as high-bandwidth memory became critical to AI accelerators. HBM requires more capacity and technical sophistication than conventional memory, potentially supporting stronger pricing and margins. If supply remains disciplined while demand expands, Micron's cycle may be structurally better than the old commodity pattern. The bear case is its planned capital spending of more than $25 billion and the possibility that today's shortages invite too much future supply. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) offers a broader toll-road thesis. Its second-quarter gross margin reached 67.7%, and the ongoing 2-nanometer ramp can deepen its lead in advanced manufacturing. It benefits whether customers favor Nvidia, AMD, custom accelerators, or other designs. However, that dominance brings enormous fabrication costs, customer concentration, geopolitical exposure, and the difficulty of maintaining exceptional margins while new capacity comes online. The two holdings do not necessarily predict weaker AI demand. They simply provide two different ways to monetize it. Micron has greater operating leverage if HBM prices stay tight, but Taiwan Semiconductor has more diversified exposure across the entire computing stack. The first offers a sharper cyclical upside; the second offers a more durable platform with risks investors cannot ignore. That tradeoff explains why reducing one position need not invalidate its thesis. Broader hedge-fund activity increased in both. Micron ownership jumped to 184 funds in the second quarter from 154, while Taiwan Semiconductor ownership increased to 249 funds from 234. AQR Capital Management reduced its Micron stake 16% but retained 3.8 million shares, while Fisher Asset Management raised its Taiwan Semiconductor position 2% to 18.9 million shares. As of August 14, 30 million Micron shares were sold short, 2.66% of the float and only 0.9 days of average volume. Institutional participation increased in both names, while Micron's days-to-cover reading showed limited mechanical short-covering pressure. Neither tells us why Tepper made the trade. While we acknowledge the potential of MU and TSM as investments, we believe certain other AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: NVIDIA (NVDA): What Foxconn and Super Micro Are Telling Us about the AI Boom  and Pony AI Is Scaling Robotaxis Fast—Can the Stock Reach BofA’s $17 Target? Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

Baron Capital, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for its “Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund”. The letter can be downloaded here. The fund achieved a strong quarter, gaining 24.6% (Institutional Shares), outperforming the Russell 1000 Growth Index (16.7%) and the S&P 500 (15.2%). Year to date, it's up 11.7%, surpassing its benchmarks. The first half of 2026 mirrored the previous year, with a 10.4% drawdown in Q1 due to geopolitical tensions, similar to last year's tariff-related decline. However, the fund rebounded with a 24.6% gain in Q2 after a cease-fire and declining oil prices. Stock selection drove the outperformance, contributing 940bps, while sector allocation detracted 152bps. In a volatile market, the firm remains focused on identifying high-quality, competitively advantaged companies and is optimistic about long-term prospects, investing when prices align with intrinsic values. Also, check the fund’s top five holdings to see its best picks in 2026. In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund highlighted Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) as a notable contributor to performance. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is the world’s leading contract chip manufacturer, producing advanced semiconductors for major global technology companies. On August 31, 2026, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) closed at $415.32 per share. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) fell 0.44% over the past month, while its shares gained 81.85% over the past 52 weeks. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) has a market capitalization of $1.97 Trillion. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) in its Q2 2026 investor letter: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is in 6th position on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. As per our database, 249 hedge fund portfolios held Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) at the end of the second quarter, which was 234 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. In another article, we discussed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) and highlighted Sands Capital Technology Innovators Fund's insights on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Shares of NVIDIA NVDA dipped slightly in after-hours trading on Aug. 26, 2026, as investors digested the AI giant's second-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results, despite another top- and bottom-line beat. As NVDA continues to lead the AI landscape, this modest pullback in its share price might entice investors to increase their exposure to the stock right away, particularly after its CEO projected 70% revenue growth for fiscal 2028, well above Wall Street’s 44% growth forecast (as cited in CNBC). However, risks remain, with NVIDIA heavily reliant on Taiwan Semiconductor TSM to fabricate its next-generation Vera Rubin chips, leaving its supply chain vulnerable to geopolitical tensions. The company also faces margin pressure from soaring memory costs. Nevertheless, the tech giant remains the cornerstone of the AI boom, bolstered by robust analyst consensus and sustained demand. Against this backdrop, investors seeking to capitalize on the AI giant’s strong price momentum while mitigating company-specific risks may consider adding exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with significant exposure to NVDA, to their portfolios. But before diving into these ETFs, let us check NVDA’s overall performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2027, in terms of key operational and financial metrics. NVIDIA’s fiscal second-quarter earnings beat the Zacks consensus estimate by 6.2%, while its revenues beat the consensus mark by 4.8%. Revenues from the company’s AI Clouds, Industrial, and Enterprise (“ACIE”) segment surged a solid 138% year over year, driven by NeoCloud capacity additions to meet the rising demand from enterprises, AI start-ups and sovereigns as well as hyperscalers purchasing capacity to supplement their own build-outs. With rising adoption of agentic AI driving an acceleration in demand for datacenter CPUs, NVIDIA’s Grace CPU generated solid revenues of more than $5 billion, on a trailing 12-month basis, in the reported quarter.  To this end, the company continues to see approximately $20 billion in demand for server CPUs. However, the company continues to face gross margin pressure owing to cost pressures from high-performance memory. In terms of meaningful collaborations, NVIDIA expanded its partnership with AWS, building on its already vast installed base of NVIDIA compute. AWS plans to deploy an additional 2 million GPUs from the fiscal third quarter through the second quarter of fiscal 2029. The company also joined hands with Noetra, Japan's national AI company, to build an NVIDIA DSX AI factory that will create open models to power AI agents, digital twins, robotics and physical AI applications NVDA’s NeoCloud partners are expected to exit calendar 2026 with 8 gigawatts (GW) of total installed capacity, up from approximately 3 GW at the end of 2025. NVIDIA also expects its Vera to be deployed by every major hyperscaler, NeoCloud, AI lab and system OEM, with shipments already underway to its leading partners. It also expects to begin volume shipments of Groq 3 LPX later this quarter, with Nebius serving as the first early adopter. Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF SHOC This fund, with net assets worth $228.5 million, offers exposure to U.S.-listed semiconductor companies. Of these, NVDA holds the first position, with a 21.51% weight. SHOC has surged 49.9% year to date. The fund charges 40 basis points (bps) in fees and sports a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF FTEC This fund, with net assets worth $19.85 billion, offers exposure to information technology stocks. Apple AAPL holds the first position in this fund, with a 17.40% weight, while NVDA holds the second position with a 16.52% weight. FTEC has escalated 25.4% year to date. The fund charges 8 bps in fees and sports a Zacks ETF Rank #1. VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH This fund, with net assets worth $67.88 billion, offers exposure to companies involved in semiconductor production and equipment. NVDA holds the first position in this fund, with a 21.71% weight. SMH has surged 54.3% year to date. The fund charges 35 bps in fees and sports a Zacks ETF Rank #1. iShares U.S. Technology ETF IYW This fund, with net assets worth $24.81 billion, offers exposure to software, semiconductors and tech hardware companies in the United States. NVDA holds the first position in this fund, with a 13.75% weight. IYW has risen 23.5% year to date. The fund charges 38 bps in fees and sports a Zacks ETF Rank #1. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): ETF Research Reports Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC): ETF Research Reports iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW): ETF Research Reports Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF (SHOC): ETF Research Reports Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Nvidia (NVDA) earnings land on Wednesday, August 26, and the stock fell 2.91% to $208.48 on Monday, its seventh straight losing session before the report. The slide looks strange because prediction markets give the report a near-certain beat. However, money flow, options, and betting data point to the real answer. Traders do not fear the result. They fear what follows it. The clearest warning sits in Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), a proxy for institutional buying and selling pressure. As of August 25, the 20-day CMF reads negative for all ten major chip names, which suggests big money may be quietly exiting the sector. The sector-wise institutional outflow trend, right before Nvidia earnings, is no coincidence. Additionally, Nvidia sits at the bottom of the table at -0.155, weaker than AMD at -0.149 and TSMC at -0.06. Nvidia leads the group, and its seventh straight drop, the longest losing streak since 2022, has spread caution across the sector. Outflows alone, though, do not prove traders expect a fall. The options market does. Barchart data shows Nvidia's put-call ratio for volume climbed from 0.52 on August 12 to 0.65 by Monday's close. The ratio compares bets on a fall (puts) against bets on a rise (calls), so a climb means more downside protection. Meanwhile, the open interest ratio held near 0.82, so standing positions have not changed. Options also price a 7% post-earnings swing, far above the 2.8% average move of the past four quarters. That hedging makes more sense next to the betting data, where the result itself is treated as settled. Polymarket traders price a 97% probability that Nvidia beats estimates, extending a streak of 14 straight beats. Consensus sits near $92 billion in revenue, above management's $91 billion guide, as covered in BeInCrypto's earlier Q2 earnings preview. The real disagreement is the data center revenue number. The contract for above $85 billion repriced from 55% to 91% in one August 15 session, then eased to 79% by Tuesday. Above $90 billion trades at 23%, leaving over half the probability inside a $5 billion band. History explains the caution. Nvidia fell after each of its last four earnings beats, with drops between 0.79% and 5.46%. Yet Wall Street has not moved an inch. TipRanks shows all 27 top-ranked analysts rating Nvidia a Buy, with a $304.13 average price target that implies roughly 46% upside. On Monday alone, four firms reiterated Buy calls. KeyBanc set $330, Rosenblatt $325, J.P. Morgan $280, and Cantor Fitzgerald $350, echoing an earlier $350 price target from Bank of America. In contrast, Michael Burry, the investor who predicted the 2008 housing crash, says Nvidia anchors a circular financing web. In plain terms, AI firms fund each other's chip orders, so demand can look stronger than it is. Wednesday's number must settle the gap between those views. The daily chart frames the trap. Monday's drop broke the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement at $211.63. Sell volume has also surged since August 14, the same window during which the fresh hedges went on. The line to defend is $201.59, the 0.618 retracement, just 3% below Monday's close and well inside the 7% implied move. That is the slip, the money flow, and options data appear positioned for, even after a beat. Losing it opens $194.45 and the $185.35 floor. A data center print above $90 billion could surprise and put $227.88 back in play. After the Nvidia earnings print, $201.59 separates a rebuild toward the $236.46 record from the breakdown that options traders have already paid to insure against. Analyst's View: Sellers are not waiting for Wednesday. Seven straight red closes on rising volume points to distribution rather than hedging. A break under the $206 zone, immediate support, on the report would likely trigger profit booking across the chip sector. Read the Original story Nvidia's Earnings Trap Explained: Why Are Traders Worried? by Ananda Banerjee at beincrypto.com

Salesforce, Inc. CRM is set to release its second-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on Aug. 26. Investors will be watching closely to see whether the company’s heavy focus on artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to deliver a meaningful boost to its financial performance. The economic backdrop remains uncertain, and many enterprises continue to be careful with their technology budgets. Still, demand for cloud software and productivity tools remains fairly healthy. Salesforce is well positioned to benefit from this trend due to its leadership in customer relationship management software and growing portfolio of AI-powered products. Click here to know how Salesforce’s overall fiscal second-quarter results are likely to be. Salesforce, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Salesforce, Inc. Quote AI has become a key part of Salesforce’s long-term growth strategy. Management expects AI agents that can handle tasks with limited human involvement to become an important part of everyday business operations. Salesforce is moving quickly to capitalize on this opportunity through its Agentforce platform. Agentforce enables businesses to automate tasks across customer service, marketing and sales using AI-powered agents. By integrating these capabilities into its broader cloud platform, Salesforce is giving customers more reasons to expand their spending within its ecosystem rather than turn to competing software providers. Salesforce’s Agentforce platform is gaining solid momentum. Agentforce’s annual recurring revenues (ARR) reached $1.2 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, representing a massive 205% year-over-year surge. During the first quarter, the company processed 28.6 trillion AI tokens, up 152% sequentially, while Agentic Work Units rose 111% to 3.8 billion. These figures indicate rising customer engagement with the platform. Salesforce’s broader AI ecosystem is also expanding rapidly. Combined AI and data ARR, including Agentforce, Data 360 and Informatica Cloud, reached $3.4 billion, reflecting a 200% year-over-year surge. In the last reported quarter, the company noted that half of Agentforce and Data 360 bookings came from existing customers who expanded their spending, demonstrating strong cross-selling opportunities. This AI-led strategy is also helping Salesforce rebuild momentum in its core subscription and support business. Revenue growth in this segment has remained in the double digits for each of the past four quarters, marking a notable improvement from the single-digit growth rates seen previously. Agentforce is becoming an important growth driver for Salesforce. The platform is likely to have driven the company’s overall subscription and support revenue growth in the second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the subscription and support segment’s second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues is pegged at $10.78 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of approximately 11.2%. Currently, CRM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSM, Lumentum Holdings Inc. LITE and Teradyne Inc. TER are some better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the Zacks Computer and Technology sector. Taiwan Semiconductor, Lumentum and Teradyne each sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Taiwan Semiconductor’s 2026 earnings has moved up 11 cents over the past 30 days to $16.45 per share, calling for a 54.5% year-over-year increase. Taiwan Semiconductor’s shares have climbed 71.8% in the trailing 12 months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lumentum’s fiscal 2027 earnings has been revised upward to $21.27 per share from $18.16 over the past 30 days. The consensus mark for the bottom line indicates a year-over-year surge of 145.3%. Lumentum shares have soared 566.1% over the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Teradyne’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $9.10 per share, revised upward by 26.4% over the past 30 days and suggests a year-over-year jump of 129.8%. Teradyne shares have soared 207.6% over the past year. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Teradyne, Inc. (TER) : Free Stock Analysis Report Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Wall Street closed on a mixed note on Aug. 24, 2026, highlighting a sharp sector divergence. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were dragged down by heavy sell-offs in tech stocks ahead of NVIDIA’s NVDA highly anticipated fiscal second-quarter earnings report. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to inch higher as investors rotated out of high-valuation growth names and into defensive blue-chip stocks. With persistent pressure from elevated bond yields and sticky inflation lingering in the background, this market shift underscores a growing preference for stability. Amid this backdrop, steady dividend-growth stocks offer a prudent balance of consistent income, lower volatility, and reliable long-term returns compared to their high-growth counterparts. These dividend-growth stocks boast a consistent track record of raising payouts, underscoring the balance-sheet strength and cash-flow resilience required to navigate a period in which the traditional growth narrative is being reassessed. Stocks with a strong history of year-over-year dividend growth can help build a resilient portfolio with greater potential for capital appreciation compared to simple dividend-paying or high-yield stocks. We have selected five dividend growth stocks — Dell Technologies DELL, Taiwan Semiconductor TSM, Enersys Inc. ENS, Cheesecake Factory CAKE and Hewlett Packard HPE — that could be solid choices for your portfolio. Stocks with a strong history of dividend growth are typically associated with mature companies that are less prone to sharp market swings, allowing them to serve as a hedge against economic or political uncertainty as well as broader market volatility. Their steadily rising payouts provide some measure of downside protection. These companies are generally backed by solid fundamentals, making them attractive long-term dividend-growth investments. Key strengths include durable business models, consistent profitability, expanding cash flows, healthy liquidity, strong balance sheets and attractive valuations. A consistent history of dividend growth underscores the potential for continued growth ahead. Although these stocks do not necessarily have the highest yields, they have outperformed the broader stock market or any other dividend-paying stock for an extended period. As a result, selecting dividend-growth stocks appears to be a winning strategy when other key parameters are taken into account. 5-Year Historical Dividend Growth Greater Than Zero: This selects stocks with a solid dividend growth history. 5-Year Historical Sales Growth Greater Than Zero: This represents stocks with a strong record of growing revenues. 5-Year Historical EPS Growth Greater Than Zero: This represents stocks with a solid earnings growth history. Next 3-5 Year EPS Growth Rate Greater Than Zero: This represents the rate at which a company’s earnings are expected to grow. Improving earnings should help companies sustain dividend payments. Price/Cash Flow Less Than M-Industry: A ratio lower than the industry median indicates that a stock is undervalued within its industry, meaning an investor would pay less for the company’s cash flow. 52-Week Price Change Greater Than S&P 500 (Market Weight): This ensures that a stock has appreciated more than the S&P 500 over the past year. Top Zacks Rank: Stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) generally outperform their peers in all types of market environments. Growth Score of B or better: Our research shows that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2, offer the best upside potential. These few criteria alone narrowed the universe from more than 7,700 stocks to just five. Here are the five stocks that fit the bill: Texas-based Dell Technologies is a leading provider of servers, storage and personal computers. The company’s IT solutions support customers in traditional infrastructure and multi-cloud environments. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DELL’s fiscal 2027 revenues suggests a year-over-year improvement of 54.6%. The stock boasts a long-term (three-to-five years) earnings growth rate of 26.40%. It has an annual dividend yield of 0.57%. DELL currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a Growth Score of A. Headquartered in Taiwan, Taiwan Semiconductor is the world's largest dedicated integrated circuit (IC) foundry. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TSM’s 2026 revenues suggests a year-over-year improvement of 35.7%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 26.50% and an annual dividend yield of 0.71%. TSM currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Pennsylvania-based EnerSys manufactures, markets, and distributes industrial batteries and related stored-energy products. It also develops battery chargers and accessories, power electronics, power equipment and outdoor cabinet enclosures. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ENS’ fiscal 2027 revenues suggests a year-over-year improvement of 3.7%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 15% and has an annual dividend yield of 0.55%. ENS currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of A. Headquartered in California, Cheesecake Factory is a restaurant and bakery company that owns and operates hundreds of upscale, full-service dining locations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAKE’s 2026 revenues suggests a year-over-year improvement of 6.8%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.50% and an annual dividend yield of 1.06%. CAKE currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B. California-based Hewlett Packard is a leader in essential enterprise technology. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HPE’s fiscal 2026 revenues suggests a 31.7% year-over-year improvement. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 32% and has an annual dividend yield of 1.07%. HPE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of A. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Enersys (ENS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Intel leads chip stocks lower, tumbling 5% while AMD drops 4% as traders trim exposure two sessions before Nvidia reports earnings Wednesday. Nvidia has beaten EPS estimates four straight quarters yet averages a negative 2% day-of move, leaving SOXX vulnerable regardless of Wednesday's headline result. Druckenmiller's Duquesne exited Intel, Micron, and Broadcom by June 30 while opening a new AMD position representing 0.8% of reported assets. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Chip stocks are leading a narrow de-risking Monday morning, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) down 4% to $501.17 while the iShares U.S. Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:IYW) is down 2% to $243.24. Semis are selling roughly twice as hard as broad technology, and that gap marks the session as sector-specific rather than a general tech pullback. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is down 5% to $85.98 and leads the group lower. Meanwhile, AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) stock is down 4% to $454.36, while Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) stock is down 3% to $406.40. No company-specific headline is driving Intel today, and positioning is being trimmed across the group two sessions before NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) reports its most consequential quarter of the year. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. NVIDIA reports its second-quarter fiscal 2027 results on August 26 after the close, a company-confirmed date. Given NVIDIA's dominant weight in semiconductor benchmarks, the company's guidance sets the tone for the entire complex, and traders are trimming exposure ahead of the release. Options flow points the same way: NVIDIA's full-chain put-call ratio sits at 0.61, with the earnings-week expiration running a heavier 0.82. Intel stock is the most extended large-cap name in the group after an enormous year, and traders holding large gains often trim aggressively into high-variance catalysts. Intel stock was up 144% year to date through Friday's close, which makes it the natural source of funds when investors reduce chip exposure. NVIDIA's own pattern reinforces the caution: the company has beaten Wall Street EPS estimates in four consecutive quarters, yet the average day-of price change across the last five reports was down 2%. The most recent quarter closed down 2% on release despite a 5.4% EPS surprise, and guidance nuance around China Data Center compute and Blackwell cadence has driven the reaction function more than headline numbers (the power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind that Blackwell buildout are the focus of a free report you can grab here). That history suggests a beat alone is unlikely to lift the entire complex. NVIDIA dominates chip-heavy portfolios, and that concentration is doing much of the work today. In IYW, NVIDIA represents 16.2% of net assets as of April 30, ranking as the largest disclosed position, with Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) at 3.8%, AMD at 3.5%, Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) at 3% and Intel at 2.6%. Chip-focused funds like the iShares Semiconductor ETF carry even higher effective NVIDIA exposure, which magnifies pre-earnings positioning shifts. Reddit chatter reflects the caution as well. The iShares Semiconductor ETF sits in bearish sentiment territory at an average score of 32.5, while NVIDIA discussion is neutral with 68 qualified mentions and 665 comments, and Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) sentiment reads neutral at an average score of 48. Investors are stepping back from chip beta rather than adding into a binary event. Separately, Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne Family Office disclosed in a Form 13F that positions in Intel, Micron and Broadcom, all opened in the first quarter, were gone as of June 30, and that it opened a position in AMD representing 0.8% of reported assets. Duquesne reported $5.2 billion in U.S. equity holdings at quarter end, disclosed on the standard 45-day lag. These are point-in-time snapshots that don't describe current positioning. On the competitive backdrop, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry intends to request an additional 150 billion yen ($941 million) for Rapidus in its fiscal 2027 budget, per Bloomberg. Rapidus is a state-backed venture founded in 2022 targeting 2-nanometer production by 2027, competing with Taiwan Semiconductor, Samsung and Intel on the leading edge of the foundry roadmap. It's a pending budget request awaiting appropriation. NVIDIA's conference call Wednesday after the close is the sector's next major catalyst. Investors can watch for guidance on China Data Center compute revenue, which NVIDIA excluded from its prior Q2 FY2027 outlook of $91 billion, plus or minus 2%, and any update on total supply-related commitments last disclosed at $119 billion. A language change on China exposure could reprice the entire chip complex within minutes of the release. Given how much of the sector's fate hinges on one report, position sizing matters more than direction here. Shareholders with concentrated chip exposure may want to check for whether their portfolios can absorb an outsized post-earnings gap in either direction, and trimming into strength ahead of a binary catalyst remains a reasonable risk-management stance. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA is set to report its second-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on Aug. 26, and expectations are high. The company continues to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) computing market and remains one of the biggest beneficiaries of the ongoing AI boom. NVIDIA’s powerful data center graphics processing units (GPUs) have become the backbone of modern AI infrastructure, supporting everything from cloud computing to generative AI applications. With enterprises and cloud providers continuing to increase AI spending aggressively, NVIDIA appears well-positioned to deliver another impressive quarter. NVIDIA expects second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues of roughly $91 billion (+/-2%), highlighting the massive acceleration in AI adoption worldwide. This represents a remarkable leap from prior years as more businesses allocate significant capital toward AI-driven growth initiatives. The Zacks Consensus Estimate currently stands at $91.8 billion, suggesting a staggering 96.4% jump from the year-ago figure and nearly 11.5% sequential growth. The consensus mark for second-quarter earnings is pegged at $2.09, implying a year-over-year surge of 99.1% and sequential growth of 11.8%. Earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 5.52%. Click here to know how NVDA’s overall fiscal second-quarter results are likely to be. NVIDIA Corporation price-eps-surprise | NVIDIA Corporation Quote NVIDIA’s data center business has been a major reason for its recent growth. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the segment’s revenues jumped 92% year over year and 21% sequentially to $75.25 billion. This strong trend is expected to have continued in the second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for data center revenues is pegged at $85.14 billion, indicating an approximately 107.2% year-over-year increase and a 13.1% sequential rise. The main reason behind this strength is the massive AI infrastructure spending by enterprises and hyperscale cloud providers, which rely heavily on NVIDIA’s GPUs to train and deploy AI models. The company's newest Blackwell and Vera Rubin AI platforms are seeing strong customer adoption due to their superior performance and energy efficiency. These chips are widely used for training large language models and delivering real-time AI responses efficiently. Major technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google continue expanding their use of NVIDIA chips across AI-focused products and cloud services, which is expected to have boosted second-quarter performance. Beyond technology companies, NVIDIA’s chips are increasingly being adopted across industries such as healthcare, automotive, manufacturing and cybersecurity. Its AI platforms help power applications, including digital assistants, recommendation engines, autonomous systems and language translation tools. As AI adoption becomes more widespread, NVIDIA’s importance within the broader technology ecosystem is only expected to grow further. Currently, NVIDIA carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSM, Lumentum Holdings Inc. LITE and Teradyne Inc. TER are some other top-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the Zacks Computer and Technology sector. Taiwan Semiconductor, Lumentum and Teradyne each sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Taiwan Semiconductor’s 2026 earnings has moved upward by 11 cents over the past 30 days to $16.45 per share, calling for an increase of 54.5% year over year. Taiwan Semiconductor’s shares have climbed 77.9% in the trailing 12 months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lumentum’s fiscal 2027 earnings has been revised upward to $21.27 per share from $18.16 over the past 30 days. The consensus mark for the bottom line indicates a year-over-year increase of 145.3%. Lumentum shares have surged 602.3% over the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Teradyne’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $9.10 per share, revised upward by 26.4% over the past 30 days and suggests a year-over-year jump of 129.8%. Teradyne shares have soared 221% over the past year. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Teradyne, Inc. (TER) : Free Stock Analysis Report Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

TSM's 36% revenue growth and AI demand runway through 2030 make it Tepper's strongest bet versus AAPL's stretched 40x P/E. CoreWeave doubled revenue but burned nearly $6B in free cash flow, making its 47% year-to-date rally a compelling exit point. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Apple didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. David Tepper's Appaloosa Management disclosed three especially large positions in its second-quarter filing, and at today's prices we see the setups differently across Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) at $305.93, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) at $426.35, and CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) at $105.26, with the risk/reward tilting cautious, constructive, and skeptical respectively. Tepper's trio spans consumer tech, foundry monopoly, and speculative AI infrastructure, and the risk/reward at current levels is very different for each. The bull case is real. Fiscal Q3 revenue hit $109.42 billion, up 16.4% year over year, iPhone jumped to $54.25 billion, and Services set a June-quarter record at $30.74 billion. Tim Cook called it Apple's "strongest June quarter ever", and management is deploying a $100 billion buyback authorization on top of $62.09B already repurchased through nine months. The bear case is stretched valuation and a low-quality tailwind. Apple trades at a P/E of about 40, gross margin got a roughly 2-point one-time boost from tariff refunds, and Cook warned of a "100-year flood on the memory pricing" that will pressure September margins. Greater China revenue slipped to $18.82B from $20.50B sequentially, and shares are down 6.5% over the past month even as they hold a 31.91% one-year gain that tops the S&P 500's broader advance. Siri AI is the swing factor. The setup looks range-bound until the memory reset and holiday iPhone data clear the air. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Apple didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. TSMC's Q2 was a standout. Revenue rose 36% year over year to $40.20 billion, EPS came in at $4.31 versus $3.89 expected, and gross margin expanded to 67.7%. Advanced nodes at 7nm and below now account for 77% of wafer revenue, and management guided full-year 2026 growth slightly above 40% in USD while raising capex to $60 billion to $64 billion. CEO Cici Wei said AI demand runs "all the way to probably 2029, 2030". Yes, Q3 gross margin guidance of 65% to 67% reflects 2nm ramp dilution, and Taiwan Strait risk never disappears. But shares are up 41% year to date and 78.82% over one year, comfortably ahead of the S&P 500, and the multiple is supported by pricing power on nodes no rival can produce. Tepper's thesis here looks the cleanest of the three. CoreWeave's Q2 revenue doubled to $2.575 billion with a jaw-dropping $104 billion revenue backlog, and Nasdaq-100 inclusion has fueled a 36.49% one-month rally. Bulls love the 59% adjusted EBITDA margin and the Meta and OpenAI commitments. The capital structure complicates the story. Q2 capex hit $6.42 billion, free cash flow was negative $5.74 billion, net loss widened to $626 million, and interest expense reached $640 million. Debt-to-equity sits at 8.94 with net debt/EBITDA of 10.75. Any hiccup in AI capex, customer concentration, or credit spreads breaks the model. Year-to-date the stock is up 46.99%, well above the S&P 500, giving holders a strong exit. At $105.26, the risk/reward for CoreWeave looks skewed against holders here. Analyst price targets are one input among many, and Tepper's filings lag reality. Position the trio for what the fundamentals say now. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Apple didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

SoftBank Group Corp. has reported past first-quarter 2026 results, with sales rising to ¥2,019.59 billion while net income eased to ¥347.33 billion, alongside disclosures of a new stake in Capital One and a sale of 71.5% of its Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing holding. The combination of higher revenue but lower per-share earnings and a sharp portfolio shift toward U.S. financials and away from a major semiconductor holding gives investors fresh insight into how SoftBank is reshaping its earnings mix and investment risk profile. Next, we’ll examine how SoftBank’s large reduction in its Taiwan Semiconductor stake may influence the AI-focused investment narrative analysts outlined earlier. AI is about to change healthcare. These 6 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10b in market cap - there's still time to get in early. To own SoftBank Group, you need to believe in its ability to turn a complex, AI-centric investment portfolio into durable earnings while managing leverage and volatility. The latest quarter’s higher sales but lower net income, paired with a sharp move out of Taiwan Semiconductor and into a U.S. bank, does not clearly change the near term AI monetization catalyst, but it does underline the key risk around portfolio concentration and execution in public markets. The most relevant recent announcement here is SoftBank’s first quarter 2026 result, where revenue rose to ¥2,019,591 million while net income slipped to ¥347,330 million. Against the backdrop of a significant reduction in its Taiwan Semiconductor position, that combination keeps attention on how asset sales, exits and reallocation decisions feed through to reported earnings, cash generation and the company’s capacity to support buybacks and dividends in the short term. Yet beneath the AI story, the bigger issue investors should be aware of is how quickly portfolio moves can amplify... Read the full narrative on SoftBank Group (it's free!) SoftBank Group's narrative projects ¥9570.6 billion revenue and ¥741.9 billion earnings by 2029. This requires 7.1% yearly revenue growth and an earnings decrease of approximately ¥4241.7 billion from ¥4983.6 billion. Uncover how SoftBank Group's forecasts yield a ¥7632 fair value, a 33% upside to its current price. By contrast, the most pessimistic analysts were already assuming revenue growth of only 1.7% a year and earnings falling toward about ¥182.7 billion, so this kind of portfolio reshaping could either reinforce their concerns or prompt revisions, depending on how you view the risks around funding AI investments and future exits. Explore 5 other fair value estimates on SoftBank Group - why the stock might be worth 22% less than the current price! Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own. A great starting point for your SoftBank Group research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards and 4 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision. Our free SoftBank Group research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate SoftBank Group's overall financial health at a glance. Right now could be the best entry point. These picks are fresh from our daily scans. Don't delay: Invest in the nuclear renaissance through our list of 91 elite nuclear energy infrastructure plays powering the global AI revolution. The latest GPUs need a type of rare earth metal called Neodymium and there are only 28 companies in the world exploring or producing it. Find the list for free. Capitalize on the AI infrastructure supercycle with our selection of the 55 best 'picks and shovels' of the AI gold rush converting record-breaking demand into massive cash flow. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include 9984.T. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]