Artisan Trimmed AMD (AMD) After Its AI-Driven Surge

Artisan Partners, an investment firm, detailed its second quarter 2026 investment outlook in a recent commentary. Global equities experienced a notable rebound, with the MSCI ACWI Index surging 15.3%, buoyed by robust economic growth, solid corporate earnings, and sustained interest in artificial intelligence, despite enduring inflation, elevated bond yields, and geopolitical tensions.

The portfolio delivered solid absolute returns of 12.65% (net); however, it trailed the benchmark due to underweighting in information technology and overweighting in healthcare. Amid these challenges, robust stock selection in technology and energy sectors helped balance the portfolio. The fund remains optimistic about long-term prospects in AI infrastructure, healthcare, and consumer internet, while maintaining a disciplined approach to valuations as many AI-related stocks have witnessed significant price appreciation.

Notably, Artisan Global Opportunities Strategy recognized Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) as a significant contributor to its Q2 2026 performance. The semiconductor company, known for its AI accelerators, microprocessors, and graphics processing units, rallied after posting strong quarterly results and exceeding revenue projections, driven by robust demand in data centers.

AMD's long-term outlook for the server CPU market was raised, reflecting the growing importance of CPUs in AI inference and agentic AI workloads. Despite adding to the position before the stock's rally, Artisan Partners trimmed its exposure as the valuation exceeded their acceptable range, adhering to their valuation discipline.

AMD's ranking at 20 on their list of the 40 most popular stocks among hedge funds as of the second quarter of 2026 indicates strong interest from institutional investors, with 164 hedge fund portfolios holding AMD shares by the end of the quarter, up from 134 in the previous quarter. While Artisan Partners acknowledges AMD's potential, they believe other AI stocks present greater upside potential with lower downside risk.