AMD Stock Extends Rally as Anthropic IPO Filing Reveals $2.5 Billion Stake
Key Takeaways
- •AMD's $2.5 billion stake in Anthropic's $26 billion private placement stems from a July commitment to buy up to $5 billion of Anthropic stock alongside a supply agreement covering up to 2 gigawatts of Instinct MI450 GPUs on Helios systems.
- •Google and Nvidia are the largest participants at $10 billion each, followed by AMD at $2.5 billion, with Broadcom, Micron and Microsoft committing $1 billion apiece and TSMC $500 million, all priced at the IPO price.
- •Oppenheimer upgraded AMD to Outperform with a $600 price target, projecting 135% data center revenue growth in 2027 and expecting AI GPU sales to surpass EPYC server CPU revenue next year.
- •AMD's third-quarter earnings of $2.09 per share beat the $1.95 consensus, with revenue of $13.38 billion up 44.7% year over year and data center sales growing 97%.
- •Nvidia shares fell nearly 6% on Tuesday as its board conducted an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang, who remains in his role.
AMD shares extended their rally on Tuesday, building on a sharp Monday surge driven by an analyst upgrade, after Anthropic's IPO filing revealed that Advanced Micro Devices will buy roughly $2.5 billion of stock in the AI company's $26 billion private placement.
The stock rose about 5% in morning trading before giving back part of the advance, and it was up roughly 2% at the time of writing. That followed a jump of more than 13% on Monday. By Wednesday, the stock opened at $515.21, up 1.3%.
Anthropic Filing Details $26 Billion Private Placement
The latest catalyst came from Anthropic's IPO filing, which showed AMD joining a $26 billion private placement alongside some of the biggest names in technology. According to Anthropic's updated SEC filing, all shares in the placement are being purchased at the IPO price. Google and Nvidia are each committing $10.0 billion, the largest allocations, followed by AMD's $2.5 billion. Broadcom, Micron and Microsoft are each taking $1.0 billion, while TSMC is buying $500 million. The roster spans cloud providers, chip designers, memory suppliers and foundries — a broad cross-section of the AI hardware ecosystem taking positions ahead of the listing.
Wall St Engine highlighted the breakdown in a post on X:
WHO'S BUYING THE $26B OF ANTHROPIC STOCK IN THE PRIVATE PLACEMENT
• Google: $10.0B
• Nvidia: $10.0B
• AMD: $2.5B
• Broadcom: $1.0B
• Micron: $1.0B
• Microsoft: $1.0B
• TSMC: $500MAll at the IPO price, per Anthropic's updated SEC filing. pic.twitter.com/Cfqi3dTsDB
AMD agreed to buy about $2.5 billion of Anthropic's Class N shares. Google, Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron, Microsoft and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are also participating in the deal. The placement is expected to close alongside Anthropic's IPO, meaning its timing is tied directly to the listing itself.
The $2.5 billion is not fresh capital. It falls under an earlier commitment made in July, when AMD pledged to buy up to $5 billion of Anthropic stock in conjunction with a hardware supply agreement. Under that deal, Anthropic plans to deploy up to 2 gigawatts of AMD Instinct MI450 Series GPUs running on Helios rack-scale systems. The first gigawatt is expected to start rolling out in the first half of 2027.
Anthropic kicked off its IPO roadshow on Tuesday. The company is offering 825 million Class A shares at an expected price of $70 to $78 each and has applied to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker ANT. Because every share in the placement is being bought at the IPO price, the level where the listing ultimately prices will set what AMD and the other participants actually pay for their stakes.
Monday's Upgrade and Google Cloud Win
Monday's surge had its own spark, separate from the Anthropic news. Oppenheimer upgraded AMD to Outperform from Perform and set a $600 price target. Analyst Rick Schafer pointed to rising demand for AMD's data center chips and projected that data center revenue could grow 135% in 2027. The firm also expects AI GPU sales to overtake EPYC server CPU revenue next year, naming the MI455 AI chips and Helios systems as key drivers.
In a separate announcement, AMD said its fifth-generation EPYC processors will power the host infrastructure for Google Cloud's new TPU 8tx system. The system offers hardware-enforced confidential computing for sensitive AI workloads.
Nvidia Stumbles as AMD Climbs
Nvidia, by contrast, had a rougher day. Its stock fell nearly 6% around midday on Tuesday. The company's board has launched an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang involving an extramarital affair with a suspected Chinese agent, and Huang remains in his role.
Broader markets also struggled on Tuesday, with the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq all lower. Some analysts noted that money moving between chip stocks is not the same as customers switching suppliers.
The rally also comes against the backdrop of a solid third-quarter earnings report. AMD posted earnings of $2.09 per share, ahead of the $1.95 consensus, while revenue came in at $13.38 billion, up 44.7% from a year earlier. Data center sales grew 97%.
The stock sits well below its 52-week high of $658.52, though it remains above its 52-week low of $188.22. Wall Street holds a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating on AMD, with an average price target of $642.47 — a level above Oppenheimer's newly set $600 target.
