Advanced Micro Devices: reset or opportunity?

This looks less like the end of the Al story and more like a valuation and expectations reset.

The sell-off was driven by guidance, not execution. The earnings beat confirmed solid operations, but management did not deliver the near-term Al inflection the market had aggressively priced in. With China demand removed and MI300 ramp visibility pushed out, investors recalibrated from “immediate Al winner” to “cycle participant with timing risk”.

That said, calling this the end of AMD’s Al optimism is premature. Three points matter:

1. Crowded trade unwind

AMD had become a consensus Al proxy outside Nvidia. When guidance failed to accelerate, positioning, not fundamentals, did the damage. A 17 percent drawdown in one session has clear capitulation characteristics.

2. Data centre trajectory, not one quarter

The Al thesis hinges on sustained data centre share gains over several quarters. If hyperscaler adoption of MI300 accelerates in the second half, this reset will look like a classic early-cycle shakeout.

3. Relative expectations now cleaner

The stock is no longer priced for flawless execution. That lowers the bar materially. Any evidence of re-acceleration, even incremental, can re-anchor the narrative.

Bottom line: this was a guidance-driven derating, not a thesis break. If Al revenue remains flat into mid-year, optimism will fade structurally. If data centre momentum reasserts itself, this will be remembered as an overreaction before the next leg of the cycle.