TLDR
- JPMorgan highlights Nvidia, Broadcom, and Micron as leading AI chip investments before earnings reports
- Semiconductor industry revenue expected to grow over 15% in 2026 with strong AI demand
- Nvidia controls 80-90% of AI accelerator market with earnings due February 25
- Broadcom’s AI chip revenue jumped 74% year-over-year with 55-60% market share in custom chips
- Micron stock surged 40% this year but can only fulfill half to two-thirds of customer orders for high-bandwidth memory
JPMorgan has released its list of preferred semiconductor investments as earnings season approaches. The banking giant expects solid performance from chip companies throughout 2026.
Analyst Harlan Sur named Nvidia, Broadcom, and Micron as the firm’s top three selections. JPMorgan maintains overweight ratings on these stocks along with Marvell Technology, Analog Devices, KLA Corp, and Synopsys.
The firm also likes smaller companies MACOM Technology Solutions and Astera Labs. These names stand to gain from AI data center buildouts.
Sur forecasts that most semiconductor companies will meet or beat fourth-quarter expectations. Companies should also provide positive guidance for the first quarter and full year 2026.
JPMorgan estimates industry revenue could climb more than 15% this year. The firm projects AI accelerator spending will exceed $200 billion in 2025 with a 50% compound annual growth rate.
AI accelerators are specialized chips used in servers, data centers, and cloud platforms. These components speed up artificial intelligence applications and processing tasks.
Nvidia Dominates AI Chip Market
Nvidia maintains an 80-90% share of the AI accelerator market. The company reports its Q4 FY2026 results on February 25.
Major cloud providers continue to drive strong demand for Nvidia products. The company’s CUDA software platform helps keep customers locked into its ecosystem.
Nvidia’s Blackwell platform is currently scaling production. The next-generation Vera Rubin platform is expected to reduce AI processing costs when it launches.
Wall Street analysts rate Nvidia as a Strong Buy. The consensus price target suggests approximately 43% upside potential from current levels.
Broadcom’s Custom Chip Business Grows
Broadcom reports Q1 FY26 earnings on February 26. The company supplies custom chips and networking hardware for large-scale AI systems.
Broadcom controls 55-60% of the custom AI chip market. CEO Hock Tan stated that AI chip sales rose 74% year-over-year and are generating record revenue.
The company holds a Strong Buy rating from analysts. Wall Street sees roughly 41% upside for Broadcom shares.
Micron Struggles to Meet Memory Demand
Micron will announce Q2 FY26 results on April 1. Shares have climbed 40% year-to-date on strong high-bandwidth memory demand.
The company can currently satisfy only half to two-thirds of what major customers need. This supply constraint highlights the intense demand for memory chips in AI applications.
Micron carries a Strong Buy rating from analysts. However, the average price target of $374.35 indicates about 6% downside from current trading levels after the recent rally.
JPMorgan cautioned that rising memory prices could hurt PC and smartphone sales later in 2026. Despite this risk, the firm remains optimistic about AI chip demand.
U.S. semiconductor stocks rose Wednesday after JPMorgan released its analysis. Nvidia and Broadcom led the gains among the recommended names.