New York, April 28, 2026, 11:29 EDT
- AMD shares slid roughly 4% in late-morning trading, with investors moving out of AI chip names.
- OpenAI reportedly fell short on both user and revenue targets, fueling uncertainty about what’s next for data-center budgets.
- Less than a week ahead of AMD’s quarterly report, a downgrade from Northland Capital put fresh pressure on the stock.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices slipped Tuesday, losing 4.2% to $320.66. The stock opened at $311.57 and dropped as low as $309.70 after a report pointing to slower-than-forecast growth at OpenAI, a key new customer for AMD, prompted investors to pare back holdings in AI chip names.
This decline is notable: AMD’s stock run lately has hinged on the belief that big AI firms will continue snapping up pricey computing systems rapidly. Hints that a key customer could pull back or revisit its spending plans take the air out of that thesis fast.
Back in October, OpenAI and AMD struck a multi-year deal that will see OpenAI roll out 6 gigawatts’ worth of AMD GPUs—spanning several Instinct chip generations. The initial wave: 1 gigawatt of AMD’s Instinct MI450 GPUs, slated to begin deployment in the second half of 2026.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI has missed recent targets for both new users and revenue, which has fueled internal worries over its ability to keep up with steep data-center costs. CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar fired back in comments to Reuters, flatly dismissing the report: “This is ridiculous. We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can.” Reuters
Selling hit the AI names too. Nvidia, AMD, and Arm Holdings traded lower early, and Oracle edged down as well, tied to its hefty cloud ties with OpenAI. “That’s putting pressure on the Nasdaq and on the S&P because tech and communication services make up about 40% of the benchmark,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. Reuters
AMD caught some downside pressure after Northland Capital Markets analyst Gus Richard took the stock down a notch, shifting his rating to Market Perform from Outperform. The $260 price target stays, but the firm pointed out that “the CY27 consensus is likely too high.” Investing.com
There’s more at stake than just OpenAI possibly pulling back on spending. Investors could soon start questioning if the entire AI push is outpacing actual revenue. Dennis Follmer, chief investment officer over at Montis Financial, pointed out that a stumble—whether it’s AI demand or capital spending—from any of the big tech names reporting this week might be enough for the market to reconsider how far the rally has gone.
Another angle: if OpenAI is in trouble, that could be a sign of the competition heating up, not a fading appetite for AI. “It just means that perhaps there’s just more competition,” said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth. Todd Schoenberger at CrossCheck Management pointed out that selloffs in AI-adjacent stocks can trigger a “ripple effect across the board, regardless of whether it’s warranted or not.” Reuters
AMD is steering attention toward its AI plans. On Tuesday, the company announced its “Advancing AI 2026” event for July 23 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Chair and CEO Lisa Su, joined by partners, is expected to outline AMD’s AI systems, covering everything from chips to software. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Not much breathing room before the next big hurdle. AMD’s first-quarter numbers land May 5, right after the bell. Management will jump on a conference call at 5 p.m. ET.
Right now, it’s not so much product updates driving the stock as faith in the AI investment cycle. AMD faces the same uncertainty dogging Nvidia, Arm, and other chip players: can customers actually turn these heavy, expensive compute bets into real revenue before the tab comes due?
