AI Chip Race Creates Clear Winners and Losers in 2024
The AI gold rush has ripped through the semiconductor industry, but not everyone is reaping the rewards. While the VanEck Semiconductor ETF has risen 42.6% so far this year, the fund has become a tale of two types of chipmakers. On one side, Nvidia’s 189.5% YTD surge, fetching a $3.4T market cap, while other semi firms have struggled to stay relevant — showing how billionaires are minted and fortunes are lost in this polarized sector.
- Beyond Nvidia’s market-leading performance, Broadcom joined the trillion-dollar club, while Taiwan Semiconductor, Marvell Technology, and ARM shot up 104.3%, 95.9%, and 83.8% this year, respectively.
- Meanwhile, legacy x86 chipmakers like Intel and AMD plummeted 57.8% and 10%, respectively — with the former cut from the Dow Jones index after frequenting worst-performer lists.
Chip Icarus: Despite clear winners and losers, some once-high-flyers have crashed back to earth. Super Micro, once a top performer, tumbled amid accounting controversies, while ON Semiconductor and Microchip Technology plunged after struggling to capitalize on AI momentum. ASML also fumbled its would-be 50% gain this year after over-extending itself on withering sales in China. As the high-stakes race for semiconductor supremacy continues, not everyone will make it to the finish line.
