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Quick Read
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Intel leads chip stocks lower, tumbling 5% while AMD drops 4% as traders trim exposure two sessions before Nvidia reports earnings Wednesday.
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Nvidia has beaten EPS estimates four straight quarters yet averages a negative 2% day-of move, leaving SOXX vulnerable regardless of Wednesday’s headline result.
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Druckenmiller’s Duquesne exited Intel, Micron, and Broadcom by June 30 while opening a new AMD position representing 0.8% of reported assets.
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Chip stocks are leading a narrow de-risking Monday morning, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) down 4% to $501.17 while the iShares U.S. Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:IYW) is down 2% to $243.24. Semis are selling roughly twice as hard as broad technology, and that gap marks the session as sector-specific rather than a general tech pullback.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is down 5% to $85.98 and leads the group lower. Meanwhile, AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) stock is down 4% to $454.36, while Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) stock is down 3% to $406.40. No company-specific headline is driving Intel today, and positioning is being trimmed across the group two sessions before NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) reports its most consequential quarter of the year.
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De-Risking Into a Sector Catalyst
NVIDIA reports its second-quarter fiscal 2027 results on August 26 after the close, a company-confirmed date. Given NVIDIA’s dominant weight in semiconductor benchmarks, the company’s guidance sets the tone for the entire complex, and traders are trimming exposure ahead of the release. Options flow points the same way: NVIDIA’s full-chain put-call ratio sits at 0.61, with the earnings-week expiration running a heavier 0.82. Intel stock is the most extended large-cap name in the group after an enormous year, and traders holding large gains often trim aggressively into high-variance catalysts. Intel stock was up 144% year to date through Friday’s close, which makes it the natural source of funds when investors reduce chip exposure.
NVIDIA’s own pattern reinforces the caution: the company has beaten Wall Street EPS estimates in four consecutive quarters, yet the average day-of price change across the last five reports was down 2%. The most recent quarter closed down 2% on release despite a 5.4% EPS surprise, and guidance nuance around China Data Center compute and Blackwell cadence has driven the reaction function more than headline numbers (the power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind that Blackwell buildout are the focus of a free report you can grab here). That history suggests a beat alone is unlikely to lift the entire complex.
