Nvidia (NVDA) shares dipped on Friday even as rival chipmakers AMD and Intel rose, while Amkor Technology (AMKR) soared 12% in after-hours trading after announcing a $1.5 billion advanced packaging partnership with Nvidia.
The moves highlight the split narrative in semiconductor stocks: Nvidia is increasingly being treated as a mega-cap tech stock rather than a pure-play chip company, while AMD and Intel gained on specific catalysts. AMD's push into AI with Anthropic and Intel's restructuring optimism helped those stocks, but Nvidia's decline of 1.5% on Thursday and a further 0.4% premarket Friday came despite strong fundamentals.
Over the past month, NVDA is up 5% while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has dropped 8%, underscoring Nvidia’s decoupling from the broader chip sector. However, the recent sell-off in Big Tech after Alphabet's earnings triggered a pullback that dragged Nvidia down alongside Microsoft and Amazon — even though Alphabet’s data center spending should have been positive for Nvidia.
Meanwhile, Amkor Technology surged 12.2% to $73.30 in extended trading on Thursday. The catalyst was a multi-year strategic partnership with Nvidia, which includes a $1.5 billion prepayment from Nvidia to support Amkor's build-out of advanced packaging and test operations in Arizona. Amkor CEO Kevin Engel said the deal “underscores the central role advanced packaging plays in enabling the future of AI.”
The Amkor-Nvidia pact builds on Amkor’s June 2026 10-year agreement with TSMC for advanced packaging in Arizona, cementing Amkor’s shift from an outsourced assembly provider to a strategic AI infrastructure partner. The stock is now up over 200% in the past year, with earnings due Monday.
Nvidia’s fundamentals remain robust: its latest quarterly EPS of $1.87 beat estimates, revenue surged 85% to $81.61 billion, and the company has a $5.05 trillion market cap. Analysts remain bullish with an average price target of $304.26. Next week’s earnings reports from Microsoft and Amazon could further shape sentiment around AI spending and Nvidia’s trajectory.
