Nvidia remains the heavyweight champion in the artificial intelligence industry, supplying the world’s most advanced semiconductor and AI technology. But if you were to look at Nvidia’s stock in 2026 and compare it to AMD’s, you’d be curious to know the discrepancy in performance. At the time of this writing, AMD is up 57% YTD, while Nvidia is up 6%…that’s a stark difference, especially given Nvidia’s sheer dominance.
Is AMD Now a Better Buy than Nvidia?
Think of this as an Android vs. Apple idea…where AMD (being Android) gives developers an open source ecosystem, which they prefer for flexibility. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s CUDA is closed and the entire company is focused on keeping hyperscalers and its customers locked into its system. This doesn’t necessarily make one company “better” than the other, but it does provide an alternative….and usually at a cheaper cost. In world where demand is soaring and supply is low, AMD is eating part of Nvidia’s lunch, simply by being the “next best thing.”
AMD’s advantages have come from their CPU/GPU synergy (being able to bundle both) on a single “Helios” rack. Their Helios Rack Scale Platform is a new liquid cooled, open standard AI architecture that integrates 72 GPUs per rack (that’s a big deal). This unrolling of this, combined with the upcoming release of its next-gen AI accelerators (Instinct MI450 Series) + their upcoming server CPU architecture designed to reclaim leadership in "agentic AI" workloads (Venice Zen 6).
All these projects and upcoming products combined are the reason AMD is soaring so far this year. Investors are building up excitement over what’s to come.
Hyper Stocks Take:
After a record setting rally, AMD now trades at a price to earnings ratio of 136x…a hefty premium to pay, and prices in the stock for “perfect” earnings. AMD will likely need to beat AND raise outlook in order to attract more buyers…and if it does, it’ll likely charge to 380.00-400.00. Since some of its products have not been released yet, this can keep investors buying.
Option Chain Analysis
AMD’s option chain expiring on June 18th 2026 currently reflects an implied volatility reading of 67%, which translates to about a $67 move from the underlying stock following the report. Whether that’s bullish or bearish depends on the outcome of the earnings call and performance. Options are fairly priced ahead of earnings, not underpriced or overpriced. This could mean markets don’t see a big move coming, but it also means that if a big move does happen, it could meaningfully expand premiums (to either side).
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of capital. Always conduct your own research or consult with a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Hyper Stocks and its contributors may hold positions in some of the securities or assets mentioned above. These positions are subject to change without notice. Any opinions expressed reflect current views at the time of writing and are not guarantees of future performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results.