AMD Surpasses $1 Trillion Market Cap, Overtakes Intel

According to Reuters, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) surpassed a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time on September 21, marking a major milestone for the U.S. semiconductor industry. The surge reflects growing investor confidence in AMD's expanding role in artificial intelligence (AI) computing and its ability to compete in the rapidly developing AI accelerator and data-center markets.

AMD shares rose 9.6% to $613.31, reaching a record high during Monday's trading session. The company, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, has emerged as one of the leading competitors to Nvidia in the graphics processing unit (GPU) market.

AMD is now the fourth U.S. chipmaker to surpass a $1 trillion valuation, following Nvidia, Broadcom, and Micron. Nvidia first crossed the $1 trillion threshold in 2023 and has since grown into the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization above $5 trillion.

The latest rally comes as investor interest returns to AI-related semiconductor stocks. Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital, said that capital is moving back into the AI trade after enthusiasm for chipmakers had weakened in recent months amid scrutiny of AI spending by hyperscale data-center operators.

AMD has also accelerated the development and launch of AI-related products. Rather than focusing solely on individual processors, the company is expanding toward complete computing systems that combine processors, networking components, and other hardware to compete more directly with Nvidia's integrated AI infrastructure offerings.

Growing demand for server CPUs used alongside GPUs for AI inference is also supporting AMD's expansion in the data-center market. This trend has helped the company gain market share from Intel, particularly as AI workloads increase demand for high-performance computing infrastructure.

AMD reported that its quarterly revenue forecast was above Wall Street estimates last month, although the outlook remained below some investor expectations. Despite this, AMD shares have risen 185% in 2026, significantly outperforming the Nasdaq Composite's 15.8% gain and placing the company among the strongest performers in the S&P 500.

AMD's valuation has also increased alongside its share price. The stock recently traded at approximately 41 times its expected earnings over the next 12 months, below its 10-year average of 44 times but considerably above Nvidia's recent forward earnings multiple of 16.3 times.

AMD's move into the $1 trillion market-capitalization group highlights the growing importance of AI processors, data-center CPUs, GPUs, networking hardware, and related semiconductor technologies as AI infrastructure investment continues to reshape the global chip industry.