December 25, 2025 — It’s Christmas Day, U.S. markets are taking a breather, and yet the AI-stock news cycle is doing what it always does: refusing to sleep. With investors digesting a holiday-thinned week of announcements, today’s biggest AI-stock narratives revolve around AI inference hardware, software consolidation, and regulatory pressure on AI distribution channels—the plumbing that decides which chatbots can reach billions of users.
Below is what’s driving “AI stocks today” headlines on 25.12.2025, and why each item matters for 2026 positioning.
Nvidia’s Groq licensing deal puts AI inference back in the spotlight
The biggest AI-stock story dominating headlines into Dec. 25 is Nvidia’s agreement with AI chip startup Groq—and it’s not the straightforward acquisition some early chatter implied.
According to Reuters, Nvidia secured a non-exclusive license to Groq’s AI inference chip technology and is also hiring top Groq executives, including founder/CEO Jonathan Ross and president Sunny Madra, along with key engineering talent. Groq, however, says it will continue operating independently under new CEO Simon Edwards, and financial terms weren’t disclosed. [1]
This matters because inference—the work of running trained models in real time (chat responses, search summaries, enterprise agents)—is increasingly where growth and cost battles are headed. Reuters highlighted Groq’s inference focus and its use of SRAM-based on-chip memory to reduce reliance on external memory supply constraints, a potentially meaningful edge in a world where the “AI factory” is judged on latency, throughput, and energy efficiency. [2]
Business Insider framed the deal as part of a broader Silicon Valley pattern: licensing + “acqui-hiring” elite AI teams rather than buying entire companies outright—often seen as a way to move fast while avoiding the clean antitrust trigger of a full takeover. [3]
Why investors care: Nvidia is effectively signaling that (1) inference competition is real, (2) it wants optionality across architectures, and (3) talent remains one of the scarcest “inputs” in the AI economy—scarcer, arguably, than GPUs.
Snowflake reportedly explores a $1B Observe deal as “AI observability” heats up
While Nvidia grabs hardware headlines, software investors are watching a different kind of AI arms race: the race to own the data + monitoring layer that enterprise AI agents depend on.
Investors.com reports that Snowflake is in talks to acquire Observe for roughly $1 billion, which would be Snowflake’s largest acquisition to date. Observe operates in the increasingly strategic observability market—tools that help companies monitor systems, detect outages, trace problems, and (increasingly) use AI assistants to accelerate response. [4]
The same report places this in a broader consolidation trend: major platforms (Snowflake and rival Databricks are specifically mentioned) have been active in buying AI-related startups to help customers build more autonomous, agent-driven workflows on proprietary enterprise data. [5]
A separate Investing.com write-up also points to the same reported $1B figure and frames the talks as part of Snowflake’s expanding AI ambitions. [6]
Why investors care: “Agentic AI” doesn’t just need models—it needs reliable, observable systems. If AI agents are going to take actions (not just answer questions), enterprises will demand monitoring that can explain what happened, why it happened, and how to fix it—fast. Owning that layer can be sticky, high-value, and cross-sell-friendly.
UiPath’s S&P MidCap 400 addition gives an AI automation name a visibility upgrade
Another story circulating through Dec. 25 coverage: UiPath is set to join the S&P MidCap 400.
S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that UiPath (PATH) will replace Synovus Financial in the index effective prior to the open on January 2, 2026. [7]
Investopedia notes that UiPath shares jumped on the news and explains the mechanical reason index changes matter: inclusion can increase exposure to institutional investors and may prompt buying from funds that track the index. [8]
Why investors care: UiPath sits at the intersection of enterprise automation and AI orchestration—the practical layer where companies try to turn AI into productivity, not just demos. Index inclusion doesn’t change fundamentals, but it can change flows, liquidity, and attention—especially into year-end and early January.
Meta faces an AI distribution fight: Italy orders a halt to WhatsApp terms barring rival chatbots
AI “stocks today” aren’t only about chips and cloud. They’re also about distribution—who gets access to the platforms where users actually are.
Reuters reports that Italy’s antitrust authority (AGCM) ordered Meta to suspend WhatsApp contractual terms that could shut rival AI chatbots out of WhatsApp, as regulators investigate potential abuse of dominance. Meta criticized the decision as “fundamentally flawed” and said it will appeal, arguing that AI chatbot growth strains systems not designed for that use. [9]
Crucially, this policy fight ties to WhatsApp’s business platform terms and the looming date when restrictions would bite hardest (mid-January 2026 has been widely cited in coverage). Reuters also notes the European Commission is running a parallel investigation, and the authorities are coordinating. [10]
Why investors care: If regulators force openness, Meta loses some control over an extremely valuable channel for AI assistants. If Meta wins, it can potentially steer billions of interactions toward its own AI. Either way, it’s a reminder that AI monetization is becoming a policy question, not just a product question.
Intel’s foundry ambitions remain an AI wild card after Nvidia “tested 18A but stopped moving forward”
One more thread influencing AI-chip sentiment: the state of advanced manufacturing capacity outside TSMC—and whether Intel can become a meaningful foundry option for top AI designers.
In a separate Reuters report focused on Intel’s political and dealmaking landscape, Reuters states that Nvidia recently tested Intel’s 18A process but stopped moving forward, citing sources. [11]
This intersects with the broader AI-stock supply chain story: if Intel can’t secure top-tier external customers for leading-edge nodes, it’s harder to credibly challenge the gravitational pull of TSMC in advanced AI silicon. If Intel can win and retain customers, it could reshape long-run capacity and pricing power across the ecosystem.
Why investors care: AI demand is increasingly limited by constraints—advanced nodes, packaging, power, and networking. Manufacturing credibility is strategic leverage, and any signal about foundry viability can ripple through semiconductor valuations.
The market backdrop: AI enthusiasm rebounds, but “bubble talk” isn’t going away
Even with holiday-thinned trading, the macro tape remains part of the AI-stocks story.
Reuters reported that on Dec. 24 the S&P 500 hit an intraday record (6,920.88), as investors rotated back into heavyweight tech and AI names while betting on additional Fed rate cuts in 2026. Reuters also notes markets had pulled back in November amid worries about lofty tech valuations and “AI bubble” fears, before momentum returned. [12]
At the same time, the “bubble vs. breakthrough” argument is still splitting influential voices. Business Insider summarized how leaders including major tech executives and investors disagree sharply—some warning about overvaluation and wasteful spending, others arguing demand still outstrips supply and the transformation is real. [13]
Why investors care: This is the late-cycle AI stock paradox: the technology is clearly useful and adoption is broadening, but the market still has to answer the uncomfortable question—who captures the profits, when, and at what cost of capital?
What to watch next when markets reopen
With the next full U.S. trading session arriving after the holiday, AI-stock attention is likely to concentrate around a few near-term catalysts:
- Inference economics: Any follow-on detail about how Nvidia will integrate Groq technology—or how competitors respond—could shift expectations about inference margins and pricing power. [14]
- Software consolidation: If Snowflake’s Observe talks progress (or fall apart), investors will reprice what “AI platform” leadership means in the enterprise stack. [15]
- Regulatory AI gatekeeping: The Meta/WhatsApp case is a live example of governments treating AI access as a competition issue, not merely a feature decision. [16]
- Index-driven flows: UiPath’s upcoming S&P MidCap 400 effective date (Jan. 2, 2026) may keep attention on AI automation and orchestration names into early January. [17]
Bottom line
“AI stocks today” (Dec. 25, 2025) is less about a single earnings print and more about the shape of the 2026 battlefield:
- Nvidia is leaning harder into inference and elite talent capture without a clean acquisition. [18]
- Snowflake is reportedly shopping for scale in the AI-ready enterprise layer (observability). [19]
- UiPath is getting an institutional visibility tailwind via index inclusion. [20]
- Meta is being challenged on whether it can “own” AI distribution inside WhatsApp. [21]
- Intel’s manufacturing story remains a swing factor for the AI chip supply chain. [22]
No charts, no hype—just the current reality: AI investing is maturing into a game of infrastructure leverage, enterprise integration, and regulatory constraints. And like all good science-fiction plots, the power isn’t just in the technology—it’s in who controls the bottlenecks.
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. www.businessinsider.com, 4. www.investors.com, 5. www.investors.com, 6. au.investing.com, 7. press.spglobal.com, 8. www.investopedia.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.businessinsider.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.investors.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. press.spglobal.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.investors.com, 20. press.spglobal.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.reuters.com
