The AI chip space is heading into the second half of 2026 with strong momentum. The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) hit fresh record highs this week, driven largely by the ongoing AI rally. The Nasdaq ($IUXX) is already up more than 16% this year, and Marvell Technology (MRVL) saw its biggest single-day gain since its IPO after Nvidia’s (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said it could become “the next trillion-dollar company.”
At the same time, competition is heating up. Intel Corporation (INTC) recently unveiled its Crescent Island AI data center GPU at Computex 2026, going after a market currently led by Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Then on June 1, Nvidia stepped into the PC processor space, introducing the RTX Spark superchip, its first PC processor, capable of delivering one petaflop of AI performance and supporting 120-billion-parameter models.
More News from Barchart
Against that backdrop, Nvidia is drawing fresh attention from Cathie Wood. ARK Invest (ARKK) (ARKW) has been cutting its position in Advanced Micro Devices, selling more than 208,000 shares across two sessions, worth about $70.9 million, even after the stock gained over 108% this year. At the same time, ARK has been adding on Nvidia, which now has a market cap above $5.39 trillion and makes up roughly 8% of the S&P 500.
Cathie Wood is known for big, high-conviction bets. So when she cuts one AI leader and adds to another at these levels, is this just rebalancing, or is Nvidia entering a new phase the market has not fully priced in?
Nvidia’s Financial Edge
Nvidia designs chips and systems that power AI, data centers, and high-performance computing, and that focus is clearly paying off. Over the past 52 weeks, NVDA is up 52.79%, with another 15.69% gain year-to-date (YTD) as demand for AI keeps driving interest.
www.barchart.com www.barchart.com
Even with that run, its forward price-to-earnings Non-GAAP of 24.95 times is slightly below the sector average of 26.65 times, showing the market still values it in line with peers.
On income, returns…
..
