Advanced Micro Devices is likely to benefit from the scandal engulfing Nvidia , its long-time competitor, according to William Blair. The investment firm raised its investment recommendation on AMD to outperform from market perform, and downgraded Nvidia to market perform from outperform. “Nvidia is facing increased scrutiny and a potential leadership vacuum, and while [Application-Specific Integrated Circuit] competition remains a risk to Instinct (particularly at Meta … and OpenAI), we see an opportunity for AMD to benefit from custom programs as an opportunity for [central processing unit] attach,” analyst Sebastien Naji said Thursday in a note to clients. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Sunday that he had an intimate relationship with a businesswoman who is suspected of being a Chinese spy by U.S. intelligence, confirming earlier reports. The same day, the Nvidia board of diectors launched an investigation into Huang’s conduct in a bid to stop the hemorrhaging in the company’s shares . But on Wednesday, the New York Times reported details of a second affair Huang is claimed to have had with subordinate Nvidia executive, stoking more market jitters. Now, Nvidia board members are preparing to remove Huang from Nvidia altogether, according to a separate Wall Street Journal report published late Wednesday. Shares of Nvidia have fallen 16% since Nov. 3. AMD is 14% higher in the same period. AMD 5D mountain Shares of AMD have surged 37% over the past five days. Beyond the woes at Nvidia, AMD will also likely steal market share elsewhere, William Blair said. Intel’s Xeon roadmap “continues to contend with delays and supply,” which could also benefit AMD, according to Naji. “All in all, we see AMD’s lead widening as it addresses a $220B server CPU [total addressable market] (2030) a full year ahead of Intel, with revenue share moving even higher than the low- to mid-40% share we noted in our initiation,” Naji wrote. William Blair’s call matches the consensus on Wall Street, where 48 of 56 analysts rate AMD a buy or strong buy, LSEG data shows.
