What Happened?
Shares of computer processor maker AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) jumped 3.2% in the morning session after positive news emerged on multiple fronts, including leaked benchmarks for a new high-performance CPU and clarification from its CEO regarding AI chip shipments to China.
Alleged benchmarks for the upcoming Ryzen 7 9850X3D CPU appeared, showcasing a potential clock speed increase to 5.6 GHz, which pointed to a major performance bump. In separate news, CEO Lisa Su stated that the company had licenses to ship some of its MI 308 AI chips to China and was prepared to pay a 15% tax on those sales. This provided clarity on the company's ability to operate in a key market. Additionally, reports indicated that memory module prices for AMD's latest Radeon graphics cards had risen, which was expected to trickle down to retail and potentially boost revenue.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $217.73, up 0.8% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
AMD’s shares are very volatile and have had 29 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 15 days ago when the stock dropped 6% on the news that markets faded the Nvidia rally in the morning session, as investors remained uncertain about future rate cuts.
While the trading day began with significant enthusiasm, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 700 points and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.6%, momentum quickly evaporated as the session wore on. The primary catalyst for this sharp reversal was a stronger-than-expected jobs report, which reduced the implied odds of a December interest rate cut to less than 40%. This macroeconomic anxiety overshadowed stellar corporate performance. Nvidia initially surged 5% on blockbuster earnings and CEO Jensen Huang's bullish outlook on "off the charts" demand for Blackwell chips. However, the stock eventually turned negative, acting as a heavy weight that dragged the broader indices into the red. The sell-off partly reflects a deepening caution regarding high-flying tech valuations in a "higher-for-longer" rate environment. Consequently, investors appeared to rotate capital away from volatile growth sectors and toward defensive staples, evidenced by Walmart's 6% gain following its own earnings beat. Ultimately, the market could not sustain the morning's euphoria, as traders prioritized rate realities over AI potential.
AMD is up 80.5% since the beginning of the year, but at $217.73 per share, it is still trading 17.6% below its 52-week high of $264.33 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of AMD’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,315.
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