U.S. stocks fell Friday as investors rotated out of AI and semiconductors. SanDisk and Broadcom led declines, while Oracle extended its slide. What’s next.
NEW YORK — Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 (updated for 6:00 PM EST) — Wall Street finished the week with a sharp, tech-led pullback, and the day’s biggest losers read like a roll call of the AI boom. SanDisk cratered, Broadcom slid into a double-digit loss, and Oracle kept falling as investors questioned both near-term margins and the long payback period on massive AI infrastructure spending. [1]
By the closing bell, the S&P 500 fell 1.07% to 6,827.41, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.69% to 23,195.17, and the Dow lost 0.51% to 48,458.05—with the Nasdaq logging its lowest close since Nov. 25, according to Reuters. [2]
The takeaway for investors heading into next week: the market isn’t “done” with AI, but it is getting more selective—fast. [3]
Why “AI bubble” worries flared up again on Dec. 12
Friday’s selloff was driven by a one-two punch that spooked investors who have been paying premium valuations for AI-related growth:
- Broadcom’s margin warning
Broadcom’s shares sank about 11% after the company warned that a rising mix of lower-margin custom AI processors could squeeze profitability—reviving an uncomfortable question for the market: How much revenue growth is “worth it” if margins compress? [4] - Oracle’s AI spending and timeline anxiety
Oracle fell again, extending a brutal two-day stretch after its forecast and capex commentary re-ignited fears that AI infrastructure investment may take longer to produce attractive returns. Reuters reported Oracle denied a Bloomberg report about delays to certain OpenAI-linked data centers, but the stock remained under pressure. [5]
Layered on top: higher Treasury yields, which typically make high-multiple growth stocks less attractive (because future earnings are “discounted” more heavily). [6]
The result was a broad retreat across chips and AI infrastructure: Reuters noted every stock in the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell, and the index sank 5.1% for its weakest session since Oct. 10. [7]
The top losers in U.S. stocks at the close
Below are the most notable U.S. market decliners from Friday’s session (regular-hours close), including the biggest percentage drops in major indexes.
Biggest decliners in the S&P 500
Slickcharts’ end-of-day “losers” list put SanDisk and Broadcom at the top, followed by a cluster of AI-adjacent hardware, networking, and components names. [8]
- SanDisk (SNDK): -14.94% to $205.51
SanDisk—described by Reuters as one of the companies that benefited from AI bets before reversing sharply—was the S&P 500’s biggest percentage decliner. The move underscored how quickly investors can de-risk crowded AI-linked trades. [9] - Broadcom (AVGO): -11.62% to $359.16
Broadcom’s drop followed its warning on margin pressure tied to the mix of AI revenue, despite strong results and guidance commentary. [10] - Corning (GLW): -8.17% to $88.13
Corning fell sharply in the risk-off tape, adding to the day’s “sell hardware first, ask questions later” theme across tech-linked cyclicals. [11] - Arista Networks (ANET): -7.17% to $124.75
A bellwether for data-center networking, Arista slid as investors reassessed the timing and profitability of hyperscaler AI spending. [12] - Amphenol (APH): -6.99% to $129.37
Amphenol, a key supplier of connectors and components used across data-center and electronics supply chains, dropped alongside broader “AI plumbing” names. [13] - Seagate Technology (STX): -6.79% to $286.95
Storage names that had ridden AI-related demand gave back gains as investors moved away from the entire stack—chips, networking, storage, and infrastructure. [14]
Other notable S&P 500 decliners included Micron (MU) -6.45%, Dell (DELL) -6.37%, and Oracle (ORCL) -5.12%. [15]
Biggest decliners in the Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100’s loser list leaned heavily toward semiconductors and AI-linked software/hardware, with Broadcom far and away the biggest percentage dropper. [16]
Top Nasdaq 100 losers included:
- Broadcom (AVGO): -11.63% [17]
- Constellation Energy (CEG): -6.90% [18]
- AppLovin (APP): -6.46% [19]
- Micron (MU): -6.45% [20]
- Marvell (MRVL): -5.56% [21]
- AMD (AMD): -4.90% [22]
- Intel (INTC): -4.39% [23]
- Arm (ARM): -4.23% [24]
- Applied Materials (AMAT): -4.15% [25]
- Nvidia (NVDA): -3.26% (also a major drag on broader indexes by weight) [26]
This lineup matters because it shows the market wasn’t just punishing one earnings print—it was repricing the entire AI and semiconductor complex in one session.
Biggest decliners in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Even the Dow—more insulated from high-growth tech than the Nasdaq—felt the downdraft, led by industrial and AI heavyweight losses. [27]
Top Dow decliners included:
- Caterpillar (CAT): -4.25% to $599.02 [28]
- Nvidia (NVDA): -3.26% to $175.03 [29]
- Goldman Sachs (GS): -2.42% [30]
- Amazon (AMZN): -1.83% [31]
- Microsoft (MSFT): -1.28% [32]
The headline losers: what investors are reacting to
Broadcom’s selloff was about margins—and expectations
Broadcom’s drop wasn’t a simple “earnings miss” story. Multiple reports emphasized the market’s sensitivity to anything that suggests AI revenue could come with lower profitability than investors priced in, especially after big run-ups this year. [33]
The Financial Times highlighted that Broadcom’s decline wiped out roughly $220 billion in market value and linked investor concern to how AI revenue mix could pressure margins—despite strong demand signals, including a major AI-related order. [34]
Oracle’s slide reflects the market’s new question: “When do we get paid?”
Oracle’s continued weakness extended a broader debate: big AI infrastructure bets require huge capex, and investors want more clarity on cash-flow timing and balance-sheet risk. Reuters’ reporting underscored that Oracle’s capex expectations have become a central focus for the “AI trade,” and that the stock was volatile even as Oracle pushed back on a report about project timing. [35]
Beyond the megacaps: AI infrastructure names also got hit
Reuters noted that investors also fled AI infrastructure companies, citing declines in CoreWeave (-10.1%) and Oklo (-15.1%). [36]
Barron’s added another high-volatility datapoint: Fermi plunged 34% after losing a $150 million funding commitmenttied to a Texas project—illustrating how quickly funding and sentiment can shift in the more speculative corners of the AI ecosystem. [37]
Are we looking at an “AI bubble” bursting—or a healthy reset?
Friday’s price action was dramatic, but several analyses published on Dec. 12 emphasized that this may be a repricingrather than a collapse:
- Reuters reported that many investors still see the AI trade as intact, but they’re becoming more selective—less willing to reward spending without a clearer return timeline. [38]
- The Wall Street Journal framed the move as part of rising concern over delays and bottlenecks in data-center buildouts (power constraints, local approvals, and other practical hurdles), which can push out the payoff window and shake confidence in near-term AI infrastructure economics. [39]
- Axios pointed to a broader narrative shift: as the market matures, investors can start demanding efficiency and fundamentals—not just scale of spending. [40]
In other words: the market is still buying the AI future—just not at any price, and not with blind faith in capex as a growth proxy. [41]
What to watch next week: catalysts that could decide whether the selloff sticks
As of 6:00 PM EST, early after-hours moves in major indexes were modest—suggesting investors are now waiting for the next macro and earnings catalysts rather than rushing to extend the selloff immediately. [42]
Here are the near-term events that matter most for the “top losers” cohort:
1) A backlog of delayed U.S. economic data
Reuters’ Week Ahead outlook pointed to a packed slate that could reset rates, risk appetite, and tech multiples:
- Jobs report (November) due Tuesday
- CPI inflation report due Thursday
- Retail sales also on deck [43]
Reuters also noted a Reuters poll forecasting ~35,000 payroll growth for November, and highlighted the unusual data vacuum caused by the federal shutdown—meaning markets may react more sharply to surprises. [44]
2) Micron earnings: a key “AI hardware demand” checkpoint
Micron’s report next week was flagged by Reuters as one that could attract extra scrutiny after the AI turbulencesparked by Oracle and Broadcom. For memory and storage-linked names—SanDisk, Micron, Seagate, Western Digital—Micron’s tone could matter almost as much as the numbers. [45]
3) Nasdaq 100 reshuffle headlines after the bell
Separately, Reuters reported that Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) faced fresh scrutiny around the Nasdaq 100’s annual reshuffle, with analysts warning a potential removal could drive meaningful passive outflows if it happens. Strategy was also among Nasdaq 100 decliners on Friday. [46]
Bottom line
Friday’s biggest losers weren’t random—they were concentrated in the AI supply chain, from chips (Broadcom, Nvidia, AMD) to memory/storage (SanDisk, Micron, Seagate) to networking and infrastructure (Arista, Dell, CoreWeave). [47]
The story investors will keep debating into next week is simple but consequential: Is this a one-day valuation reset after an overheated run, or the start of a longer rotation away from the “AI at any price” trade? Reuters’ reporting suggests optimism hasn’t vanished—but the market’s tolerance for margin pressure, delayed timelines, and debt-funded capex is clearly lower than it was even a few weeks ago. [48]
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
References
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