New York, January 5, 2026, 17:21 EST — After-hours
Nvidia shares edged down about 0.4% in after-hours trading on Monday after CEO Jensen Huang used a CES keynote in Las Vegas to tout new software for autonomous cars. “Only in that way can you truly trust how the models came to be,” Huang said, describing Nvidia’s plan to open-source the models and the data used to train them. Intel was little changed after hours, while AMD slid about 1.1%. Reuters
The CES stage is a gut-check for 2026 expectations in AI hardware. Investors are looking for credible product roadmaps, and proof that chipmakers can deliver performance gains without costly production stumbles.
The market’s other pressure point is memory, where supply is tightening as manufacturers steer capacity toward AI servers. High-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is a stacked, ultra-fast memory used to feed data-hungry AI processors; its pull on factory lines has helped push prices higher and revived the industry’s “supercycle” narrative. Micron was down about 1.0% after hours. Reuters
Intel is set to detail its Panther Lake laptop chip at CES, a launch investors are treating as a referendum on its 18A manufacturing process — Intel’s next-generation chipmaking technology. Reuters has reported Intel has wrestled with “yield,” the share of usable chips produced from each silicon wafer, as it ramps the product. The company’s CES presentation is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. EST, and AMD’s CEO Lisa Su is due to headline a keynote at 9:30 p.m. EST. Reuters
For Nvidia, the CES message landed as competitors crowd in from both flanks. Rival chip designers have pushed harder into AI PCs and data centers, while big customers increasingly want a bigger role in choosing — or building — the silicon that runs their AI workloads.
In memory, Samsung co-CEO T M Roh told Reuters the shortage was “unprecedented,” as the AI buildout absorbs supply that would normally flow to phones and consumer electronics. Analysts at Morningstar and J.P. Morgan have said the upcycle could run well into 2027, a long stretch in an industry better known for sharp booms and busts. Reuters
Samsung, which is also pushing AI into consumer devices, plans to double the number of mobile products carrying “Galaxy AI” features to 800 million units in 2026, with many features powered by Google’s Gemini, Roh said. He added that higher memory prices pressure smartphone margins and did not rule out product price increases; Samsung shares ended up 7.5% in Seoul trading, ahead of the company’s expected preliminary fourth-quarter profit update later this week. Reuters
But the trade is not one-way. Memory pricing can turn quickly if capacity catches up or if cloud and enterprise spending slows, and CES launches can disappoint if early benchmarks or shipment timelines fall short. Investors are also watching whether competition forces more aggressive pricing in AI chips and AI PCs, squeezing margins even as volumes rise.
The next catalyst is hours away: Intel’s 6 p.m. CES presentation and AMD’s 9:30 p.m. keynote, with traders looking for concrete specs, shipment timing and any read-through to Nvidia’s pricing power into the next session.
