Author: Anusuya Lahiri

Apple Inc (NASDAQ) stock edged higher in Friday premarket trading as investors weighed the company’s new leasing strategy against a mixed backdrop for mega-cap technology stocks.

Nasdaq futures fell about 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.03%.

Counterpoint Sees Leasing Supporting Volume And Premium Mix

Apple is shifting its device financing strategy toward leasing as higher hardware costs and potential price increases put more focus on monthly affordability.

Counterpoint Research analyst Maurice Klaehne said the new Apple Upgrade program could help protect device volumes as prices rise while encouraging customers to choose higher-priced configurations.

The Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR)-backed program covers iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad. Customers can upgrade, buy their existing device or return it when the lease ends.

Klaehne also sees the program as a way to attract first-time iOS users and Android switchers while potentially shortening replacement cycles.

Klarna Partnership Limits Apple’s Credit Exposure

Klaehne highlighted another advantage for Apple: Klarna handles the financing relationship, allowing Apple to benefit from customer loyalty and device sales without carrying receivables or credit risk on its balance sheet.

He said the timing is significant as memory shortages drive DRAM and NAND prices higher and Apple raises prices across parts of its product lineup.

Klaehne views the upcoming iPhone 18 cycle as an important test of whether leasing can help offset higher upfront prices and sustain demand.

Lower carrier device promotions could also encourage consumers to consider Apple Upgrade as an alternative payment option.

Apple Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions

Apple stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $335.24. Recent analyst moves include:

• Rothschild & Co: Upgraded to Buy (Raises Forecast to $400.00) (Aug. 17)
• Jefferies: Downgraded to Underperform (Lowers Forecast to $263.66) (Aug. 10)
• China Renaissance: Downgraded to Hold (Forecast $280.00) (Aug. 4)

Top ETF Exposure

• iShares S&P 100 ETF (NYSE:OEF): 9.83% Weight
• HCM Defender 100 Index ETF (NYSE:QQH): 9.81% Weight
• NYLI US Large Cap R&D Leaders ETF (NASDAQ:LRND): 9.49% Weight

Significance: Because AAPL carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

AAPL Price Action: Apple shares were up 0.24% at $315.33 during premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) has agreed to acquire AI coding startup Anysphere Inc. (“Cursor”), in an all-stock deal valued at an implied equity value of $60 billion, according to a Form 8-K filed Tuesday.

SpaceX To Acquire Cursor

On June 16, 2026, SpaceX, its wholly owned subsidiary X67 Inc., and Anysphere entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger. Under the agreement, X67 will merge with Cursor, with Cursor surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX.

The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals. SpaceX expects the acquisition to close during the third quarter of 2026.

Deal Values Cursor At $60 Billion

At closing, each outstanding share of Cursor’s common and preferred stock will automatically convert into the right to receive shares of SpaceX Class A common stock.

The exchange ratio will be based on Cursor’s implied equity value of $60 billion and the volume-weighted average closing price of SpaceX Class A shares over the seven consecutive trading days immediately preceding the merger’s closing.

SpaceX Stock Performance

SpaceX stock rose nearly 5% in Tuesday’s premarket session as investors continued to buy into the stock’s powerful rally. The gains came even as broader market sentiment weakened, with Nasdaq futures down 0.17% and S&P 500 futures slipping 0.07%.

SPCX Stock Price Activity: SpaceX shares were up 4.49% at $201.14 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) shares rose Wednesday after the company reported fiscal second-quarter 2026 results that topped Wall Street expectations, driven by growth across its entertainment, sports and experiences businesses.

Disney Q2 Earnings Beat Wall Street Estimates

Disney reported adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share for the quarter, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.49. Revenue increased 7% year over year to $25.17 billion, ahead of analyst estimates of $24.76 billion.

Entertainment, ESPN And Parks Drive Segment Growth

The entertainment segment, which includes traditional television networks, direct-to-consumer streaming and film operations, posted revenue of $11.72 billion, up 10% from a year earlier.

The sports segment, led by ESPN, reported revenue growth of 2% to $4.61 billion.

Disney’s experiences segment, which includes theme parks, resorts and consumer products, generated revenue of $9.49 billion, up 7% year over year.

Operating Income, Cash Flow And Buyback Update

Consolidated operating income rose 4% to $4.60 billion during the quarter. The experiences business led segment operating income with $2.62 billion, followed by entertainment at $1.34 billion and sports at $652 million.

Operating cash flow increased 2.38% year over year to $6.91 billion, while free cash flow totaled $4.94 billion for the quarter.

Domestic parks and resorts revenue climbed 6% to $6.92 billion, while international parks revenue rose 11% to $1.6 billion.

Disney also raised its fiscal 2026 share repurchase target to $8 billion from its prior forecast of $7 billion.

Streaming, ESPN And Experiences Support Growth Outlook

The company said it expects growth to accelerate in the second half of fiscal 2026, supported by higher streaming investments, ESPN’s direct-to-consumer strategy and continued expansion within Disney Experiences.

Disney said second-quarter segment operating income modestly exceeded guidance, primarily because revenue growth outpaced expectations.

The company outlined several long-term growth initiatives, including investments in major intellectual property franchises, international expansion and technology-driven monetization efforts.

Disney+ Engagement And Sports Partnerships In Focus

Disney highlighted growth drivers including stronger Disney+ engagement, local original programming outside the United States, upcoming franchise film releases, ESPN content agreements, its NFL transaction, expanded MLB relationships, CW Sports on ESPN and DraftKings account integration.

The company also pointed to future growth opportunities within Disney Experiences, including Disney Adventure, World of Frozen, a planned Japan cruise ship and a new Abu Dhabi theme park resort. Disney additionally cited its partnership with Epic Games, artificial intelligence opportunities, marketing efficiencies and margin expansion as potential long-term value drivers.

Fiscal 2026 And 2027 Guidance

For fiscal 2026, Disney expects adjusted earnings per share growth of about 12%, excluding the impact of the 53rd week. Including the additional week, the company projects adjusted EPS growth of about 16%.

Disney expects total segment operating income to reach approximately $5.3 billion in the third quarter. The company said demand across its domestic parks and resorts remains strong, though it continues to monitor macroeconomic uncertainty affecting consumers.

For fiscal 2027, Disney reiterated expectations for double-digit adjusted EPS growth, excluding the impact of the 53rd week.

DIS Price Action: Walt Disney shares were up 4.35% at $104.85 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones said Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, is strengthening its position in agentic AI, with its cloud and infrastructure strategy supporting future growth.

Analyst Sees Upside From AI And Cloud Positioning

Jones said on Thursday that he is “incrementally positive” on Google’s role in agentic AI, citing its vertically integrated cloud offering.

He noted that Google’s ability to combine its own chips with third-party Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and integrate across platforms should help drive higher enterprise cloud and AI spending.

BNP Paribas set a $390 price forecast on the stock, implying about 15% upside from the $339.3 level.

Cloud Revenue Growth Could Accelerate

Jones said Google’s shift from AI proof-of-concept to enabling enterprises to build and scale agents could boost cloud revenue growth in the medium term.

He added that easier data access and multi-cloud capabilities reduce friction for customers, which should support increased budgets for AI adoption.

Capex And Infrastructure Support Long-Term Strategy

Jones said Google’s rising capital expenditure remains “reasonable,” given its focus on scaling agentic AI.

He pointed to new AI infrastructure, including advanced Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and data architecture, as key enablers of long-term growth as enterprise demand for AI continues to expand.

Technical Analysis

Alphabet is pressing the upper end of its 52-week range, sitting just below the $349.00 high, which is consistent with buyers staying in control. The stock is trading 7.8% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 7.5% above its 100-day SMA, suggesting the short- and intermediate-term trends remain higher.

The moving average convergence divergence (MACD), a trend/momentum indicator, is bullish with the MACD line above the signal line and the histogram positive, which suggests strengthening upside momentum. In everyday terms, MACD staying above its signal line usually means pullbacks are bought faster than rallies fade.

Over the last 12 months, the stock has been up 112.76%, which shows the longer-term tape has rewarded staying with the uptrend. With the price now near the $340.50 resistance area, the next test is whether buyers can absorb supply that has recently stalled rallies.

• Key Resistance: $340.50 — a spot where upside attempts have tended to stall.
• Key Support: $294.00 — an area where demand has previously shown up on pullbacks.

Earnings Outlook

The countdown is on: Alphabet is set to report earnings on April 29, 2026 (confirmed).

• EPS Estimate: $2.62 (Down from $2.81 YoY)
• Revenue Estimate: $104.04 Billion (Up from $90.23 Billion YoY)
• Valuation: P/E of 31.3x (Indicates premium valuation relative to peers)

Top ETF Exposure

• Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF (NYSE:NUGO): 9.39% Weight
• Alger 35 ETF (NYSE:ATFV): 9.31% Weight
• Parnassus Core Select ETF (NYSE:PRCS): 9.70% Weight

Significance: Because GOOGL carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows will likely trigger automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Price Action

GOOGL Stock Price Activity: Alphabet shares were up 0.06% at $339.10 during premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is doubling down on the next frontier of artificial intelligence, shifting beyond chatbots to “world models” while leveraging its fast-growing open-source ecosystem to expand its global AI footprint.

Shift Beyond Language Models Into World Models

Alibaba Cloud is moving beyond traditional large language models toward AI systems that better simulate the real world. The move reflects growing recognition that text-trained large language models have inherent limitations.

Unlike text-based systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, these “world models” rely on multimodal data — including video, audio, and physical interactions — to better mirror real-world environments.

To capitalize on this shift, Alibaba led a 2 billion yuan ($290 million) investment in ShengShu, the developer behind the Vidu AI video generation tool, CNBC reported on Thursday.

The funding will support the development of a “general world model” to bridge digital environments, such as games and AI-generated video, with physical applications, such as autonomous driving and robotics.

Expanding Bets Across the World Model Ecosystem

Alibaba is deepening its push into “world model” AI with targeted investments. Last month, alongside Baidu, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:BIDU) Baidu Ventures, it co-led a $50 million round in Tripo AI, which creates 3D models from photos and is building AI systems grounded in physical environments.

Earlier, in September, Alibaba also led a $60 million investment in PixVerse, whose AI world model enables users to control how videos evolve in real time during generation.

Beyond investments, Alibaba is advancing its own capabilities, releasing open-source video AI models and launching a robotics-focused model in February.

Open-Source Momentum Strengthens Global Position

At the same time, Alibaba Cloud is gaining significant traction in open-source AI. Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen models now drive over 50% of global open-source AI downloads, nearing 1 billion total downloads—far ahead of rivals like Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:META) Llama.

The surge, led by Qwen 3.5, is driven by low-cost, smaller models that are easy to deploy, SCMP reported on Friday. Chinese models have dominated open-source adoption since 2024, though players like OpenAI and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) are starting to regain ground.

Technical Analysis

At $128.55, Alibaba is trading 1.1% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), the stock’s average price over the last 20 sessions, which suggests short-term stabilization is trying to take hold. At the same time, it’s trading 14.4% below its 100-day SMA, indicating the intermediate trend still leans bearish.

The moving average convergence divergence (MACD), a trend/momentum indicator, is at -4.9703, while the signal line is at -5.9890, suggesting downside pressure is easing. That said, the broader moving-average structure remains heavy after the death cross in April, which often reflects longer-cycle selling control.

Over the last 12 months, the stock has risen 22.56%, a backward-looking gain that suggests the longer-term picture hasn’t fully broken despite the drawdown. Within its $95.73 to $192.67 52-week range, the stock is well off its highs, consistent with a market still rebuilding confidence after prior peaks.

• Key Resistance: $139.00 — a level where rallies have recently struggled to push through.
• Key Support: $128.50 — a near-term floor that buyers are trying to defend right now.

Earnings & Analyst Outlook

Looking further out, the next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the May 14, 2026 (estimated) earnings report.

• EPS Estimate: $1.29 (Down from $1.73 YoY)
• Revenue Estimate: $35.35 Billion (Up from $32.58 Billion YoY)
• Valuation: P/E of 22.6x (Suggests fair valuation relative to peers)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy Rating with an average price target of $182.21. Recent analyst moves include:

• Susquehanna: Positive (Lowers Target to $170.00) (March 26)
• JP Morgan: Overweight (Lowers Target to $205.00) (March 20)
• Mizuho: Outperform (Lowers Target to $190.00) (March 20)

Top ETF Exposure

• SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (NYSE:XNTK): 3.53% Weight
• Nomura Focused Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NASDAQ:EMEQ): 3.35% Weight
• Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (NYSE:THNQ): 2.59% Weight

Significance: Because BABA carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows will likely trigger automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Price Action

BABA Price Action: Alibaba shares were up 0.82% at $128.72 during premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) is staring down a double threat: a federal smuggling scandal and a business model that hinges almost entirely on continued access to Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) AI chips.

Board Exit, Smuggling Allegations Shake Confidence

The company’s near-term outlook now hinges on whether it can maintain access to Nvidia’s critical chip supply, even as it navigates the fallout from a widening legal controversy.

Co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw resigned from the board after federal prosecutors accused him and others of smuggling Nvidia AI servers to China using intermediaries and falsified paperwork to evade export controls.

Authorities allege the group relied on shell entities and dummy equipment to bypass compliance checks. In response, Super Micro said it placed certain employees on leave, severed ties with a contractor, and appointed an acting compliance chief to strengthen oversight.

The market reaction was swift. Shares plunged more than 33% on Friday, hitting a 52-week low.

Growth Intact, but Risks Mount

Analysts say the company’s fortunes remain closely tied to Nvidia. Bernstein warned that any disruption to GPU supply would significantly impair operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Despite the turmoil, demand tied to the AI boom continues to drive growth. Super Micro’s revenue more than doubled to $12.7 billion in the December quarter, and the company is projected to reach about $40 billion for the full fiscal year.

Still, concerns are building. Bernstein highlighted ongoing credibility risks, while Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini pointed to the need for leadership and board changes. He also flagged weak margins and a strategy overly focused on top-line growth, even as underlying financial quality deteriorates.

Ultimately, Super Micro’s future may hinge on a single question: can it keep getting Nvidia’s GPUs? The report said continued access to those chips is critical.

Nvidia, for its part, said compliance with export controls remains a “top priority,” but stopped short of saying whether it will keep supplying Super Micro.

Technical Analysis

SMCI is trading 28.8% below its 20-day SMA and 34.4% below its 100-day SMA, keeping the intermediate trend firmly pointed down. Shares are down 48.27% over the past 12 months and are closer to the 52-week low ($19.48) than to the 52-week high ($62.36).

Momentum is stretched: RSI is at 28.18 (oversold), while MACD is at -1.5693 and still below its signal line at -0.4871, which keeps bearish pressure in place despite the bounce attempt. The MACD histogram at -1.0822 reinforces that downside momentum has been strong recently.

The combination of oversold RSI (below 30) and bearish MACD suggests mixed momentum.

• Key Resistance: $30.50
• Key Support: $19.50

Earnings & Analyst Outlook

Looking further out, the next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the May 5, 2026 (estimated) earnings report.

• EPS Estimate: 59 cents (Up from 31 cents YoY)
• Revenue Estimate: $12.42 Billion (Up from $4.60 Billion YoY)
• Valuation: P/E of 15.8x (Suggests fair valuation relative to peers)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Hold rating with an average price target of $39.28. Recent analyst moves include:

• Northland Capital Markets: Downgraded to Market Perform (Target $22.00) (Mar. 23)
• CJS Securities: Downgraded to Market Underperform (Mar. 20)
• Barclays: Equal-Weight (Lowers Target to $38.00) (Feb. 4)

Top ETF Exposure

• Themes US R&D Champions ETF (NASDAQ:USRD): 2.21% Weight
• Schwab Fundamental US Small Company Index ETF (NYSE:FNDA): 0.30% Weight
• iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (NYSE:ARTY): 3.20% Weight

Significance: Because SMCI carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows will likely trigger automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Price Action

SMCI Price Action: Super Micro Computer shares were down 0.14% at $21.55 during premarket trading on Tuesday. The stock is near its 52-week low of $19.48, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) is doubling down on artificial intelligence infrastructure with a $4 billion investment in optical networking companies and a new push into 6G.

Nvidia Invests $4 Billion In Photonics Partners

The biggest tech giant by market cap agreed to invest $2 billion each in Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) and Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) under separate multi-year deals.

Each agreement includes multibillion-dollar purchase commitments and future capacity access rights for advanced laser and optical networking components.

The companies said Nvidia will use the funds to support research and development and to expand future capacity and U.S. manufacturing operations.

Lumentum and Coherent develop optical and photonics technologies that generate and transmit light for high-bandwidth, energy-efficient data transfer in AI and cloud computing systems.

Indium phosphide lasers—produced in the U.S. mainly by these two companies—enable faster data transmission and higher bandwidth connections in data centers.

The agreements provide demand visibility for these components and help reduce expansion risk.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC, “Together with Lumentum, Nvidia is advancing the world’s most sophisticated silicon photonics to build the next generation of gigawatt-scale AI factories,” and added that Nvidia will work with Coherent to develop next-generation silicon photonics for AI infrastructure.

Shares of Lumentum and Coherent rose following the announcement, with Lumentum climbing as much as 11% and Coherent reaching a record high in earlier trading.

Nvidia Expands Into 6G With Telecom Partners

Separately, Nvidia announced Sunday that it is partnering with telecom and technology companies to advance 6G using open, secure, and AI-native network designs.

The company said it plans to build future wireless systems around software-based architectures and AI-RAN (artificial intelligence—radio access network), allowing networks to improve through software updates and embedded intelligence.

CEO Jensen Huang said, “AI is redefining computing and driving the largest infrastructure buildout in human history — and telecommunications is next.”

Nvidia named partners, including T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS), SoftBank Corp. (OTC:SFTBY), and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO).

NVDA Price Action

Semiconductor and major tech stocks continued to slide despite strong earnings from Nvidia, as investors weighed AI profitability concerns, heavy capital spending, macroeconomic pressures, and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Nvidia shares were down 3.09% at $176.85 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Manchester United Ltd. (NYSE:MANU) posted second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Wednesday.

The club posted quarterly net sales of 190.31 million pounds ($253.13 million), down from 198.70 million pounds a year earlier and falling well short of the Street’s $301.52 million estimate.

Overall revenue declined 4.2% year over year, weighed down by a 7.8% drop in commercial revenue and a 4.8% fall in matchday income, partially offset by a modest 1.1% increase in broadcasting revenue.

Profitability Metrics

The company clocked a quarterly operating profit of 19.6 million pounds, up from 3.1 million pounds in the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA reached 76.0 million pounds, a 7.8% increase.

The company reported adjusted earnings of 3 cents per share, lagging analysts’ projected 11 cents per share.

Net finance costs fell to 13.9 million pounds from 37.6 million pounds a year earlier, largely due to the absence of significant unrealized foreign exchange losses on unhedged U.S. dollar borrowings, which had weighed heavily on the prior-year quarter.

CEO Omar Berrada said the company is now seeing clear financial benefits from its off-pitch transformation, reflected in lower costs and improved profitability.

He added that the organization continues to prioritize a football-first strategy by investing in both the men’s and women’s first teams.

He noted that the men’s team currently sits fourth in the Premier League. In contrast, the women’s team ranks second in the Women’s Super League and has reached the League Cup Final and the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinals.

Outlook

For fiscal 2026, Manchester United reiterated revenue between 640.00 million pounds and 660.00 million pounds, compared to the analysts’ expectations of 654.67 million pounds.

It also maintained its adjusted EBITDA guidance in the range of 180 million pounds to 200 million pounds.

MANU Price Action: Manchester United shares were down 3.95% at $17.03 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Nvidia Corp’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock slipped in on Monday after a Friday report said the chipmaker’s plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI have stalled.

OpenAI Investment Plans Face Uncertainty

The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that uncertainty remains around a potential deal between Nvidia and OpenAI.

Nvidia previously announced an agreement with OpenAI in September to help build at least 10 gigawatts of computing power for the AI company and to consider an investment of up to $100 billion.

According to the report, CEO Jensen Huang later told industry associates that the investment was non-binding and not finalized, while also raising concerns about OpenAI’s business discipline and competition from rivals such as Google and Anthropic.

Howver, over the weekend, Huang pushed back on claims that he was unhappy with OpenAI, calling such reports “nonsense,” but reiterated that the investment would not exceed $100 billion, CNBC reported on Monday.

Nvidia stock has gained 62% in the last 12 months, becoming the first company to top the $4.5 trillion market cap last October.

Analysts Stay Bullish On Nvidia After CES

Analysts remained bullish on Nvidia after CEO Jensen Huang used his CES 2026 keynote to highlight the company’s next-generation AI products and its long-term scaling roadmap.

Bank of America Securities analyst Vivek Arya said Nvidia’s announcements showed AI scaling remains on track, including the Vera Rubin platform, which will feature six new chips and is expected to launch in the second half of 2026.

Arya told Nvidia remains a “top AI pick,” citing leadership in AI compute, networking, and systems, as well as its broader ecosystem and strong demand for its AI products.

Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy said Nvidia’s CES updates reinforced that AI development remains in its early stages.

He said that the demand for greater computing power continues to rise across the industry as developers seek more capacity and better performance. He added that ongoing improvements in AI efficiency should help earnings growth keep pace with higher stock prices.

NVDA Price Action: Nvidia shares were down 1.36% at $188.53 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo via via Imagn Images

Global chip sales are surging to record highs, underscoring a new growth cycle for semiconductors as demand from AI and tech giants accelerates worldwide.

Global semiconductor sales surged to a record level in November 2025, driven by demand across major product categories, as per the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

The SIA said worldwide chip sales rose 29.8% year-over-year to $75.3 billion in November.

The global chip sales were 3.5% higher than October’s $72.7 billion.

SIA represents 99% of U.S. semiconductor revenue and nearly two-thirds of global chipmakers outside the U.S.

Outlook Points To $1 Trillion Market

John Neuffer, SIA CEO, said, “Looking ahead, the global chip market is projected to grow substantially in 2026, reaching nearly $1 trillion in annual sales.”

On a year-over-year basis, sales rose sharply in Asia Pacific/All Other regions by 66.1%, followed by the Americas at 23.0%, China at 22.9%, and Europe at 11.1%. Japan was the only major market to post a decline, with sales down 8.9% from a year earlier.

Month-to-month growth was also broad-based. Sales increased 5.0% in Asia Pacific/All Other, 3.9% in China, 3.0% in the Americas, and 1.2% in Europe, while Japan recorded a marginal 0.1% decline.

That optimism has been reinforced by the rising market influence of semiconductor leaders. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) became the first company to reach a $4.5 trillion market capitalization in 2025, surpassing  Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), highlighting the sector’s growing dominance within global equity markets.

Analysts See Strong Momentum

Analysts say multiple tailwinds are aligning for the sector. Bank of America Securities analyst Vivek Arya said secular, cyclical, and pricing drivers are converging for U.S. semiconductors following meetings with more than a dozen management teams at CES in Las Vegas.

Arya said those discussions strengthened his confidence in an above-consensus forecast for 30% year-over-year growth and what he expects to be the industry’s first $1 trillion revenue year.

He cited strong demand visibility, AI-led secular growth, and pricing power, with particularly positive sentiment around Nvidia,  Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRDO), Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP), Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI), and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU).

He also noted that the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index has gained about 45% over the past year, far outpacing the S&P 500.

On Nvidia, Arya highlighted projected 2026 R&D spending of $26 billion and demand visibility for roughly $500 billion in combined Blackwell and Rubin orders across 2025 and 2026, reiterating a Buy rating and naming it his top sector pick.

NVDA Price Action: Nvidia shares were down 0.38% at $184.33 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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