NEW YORK, Jan 22, 2026, 04:52 (EST) — Premarket
- AMD’s stock ended Wednesday up roughly 7.6%, closing at $249.80.
- KeyBanc highlighted a tight supply of 2026 server chips and the possibility of price increases, drawing focus to company guidance.
- AMD added a new member to its board, as a busy schedule of chip earnings keeps investors watching closely.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) jumped roughly 7.6% Wednesday, closing at $249.80. The sharp gain has put the stock back in focus heading into Thursday’s session.
Why it matters now: the rally comes just before AMD’s upcoming earnings and guidance release. Investors will be keenly watching for concrete data on demand in data centers and the company’s ability to maintain pricing power.
The focus isn’t only on server processors but also AI chips. Nvidia continues to dominate the high end of AI accelerators—the graphics processors powering large model training and deployment. AMD, meanwhile, faces pressure to prove it can deliver volume shipments on schedule.
On Jan. 21, KeyBanc stuck with its Overweight rating and $270 price target on AMD, citing robust demand for the company’s latest “Turin” server CPUs—the core processors powering data-center hardware. The broker noted hyperscalers, the largest cloud providers, are already locking in capacity for 2026. AMD is nearing a sellout of server CPU supply through the end of that year and is mulling price hikes between 10% and 15%. KeyBanc also forecasted AI GPU revenue hitting $14 billion to $15 billion in 2026, while emphasizing the rollout of AMD’s MI455 chips and the Helios rack-scale system. Investing.com
AMD revealed a shakeup on its board this week, bringing on KC McClure, the ex-CFO of Accenture, as a new director. CEO Lisa Su expressed she was “delighted to welcome KC,” highlighting McClure’s “operating expertise and global perspective.” AMD
A regulatory filing revealed AMD increased its board size from eight to nine directors, adding McClure to the audit and finance committee. According to the filing, she was granted 1,278 restricted stock units, a type of stock award that usually vests gradually.
AMD’s advance followed strong action in semiconductors. Nvidia climbed roughly 3%, Intel surged close to 12% on Wednesday, and semiconductor ETFs like SOXX and SMH added about 3%. The broader market benchmarks QQQ and SPY ended the day higher as well.
Still, with the stock already up, there’s little margin for missteps if product rollouts delay or guidance disappoints—especially in the high-end GPU space where AMD is pushing to wrest market share from Nvidia. KeyBanc analyst John Vinh told The Motley Fool that investors will be zeroing in on customer wins and production timelines during the next earnings call.
Intel will drop its earnings after the bell on Thursday, offering an early glimpse into chip demand ahead of AMD’s report. The results could push the sector sharply in either direction.
AMD plans to release its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings on Feb. 3, after markets close. The company will hold a conference call at 5:00 p.m. EST. Additionally, CTO Mark Papermaster is scheduled to speak at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 3.
