AMD Beat Nvidia by 32 Points in a Week — Nvidia Still Wins the Investment Case

AMD outperformed Nvidia by 31.68 percentage points in the five sessions ended November 13, 2026 — the widest weekly gap between the two chipmakers since Nvidia's 1999 IPO, according to The Kobeissi Letter. AMD rose 18.93% over that week while Nvidia fell 12.75%, capping one of the most lopsided stretches in the companies' 27-year competition for AI silicon.

The divergence reflects two forces colliding at once: a leadership scandal at Nvidia and a revenue acceleration at AMD. Nvidia has opened an independent investigation following reports that CEO Jensen Huang had a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, and Commerce Secretary Lutnick is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Nvidia shares have dropped 26.41% in a month and closed at $162.85. AMD closed at $534.06.

The stakes run well beyond two tickers. Year to date, AMD is up 149.37% while Nvidia is down 12.48%, a reversal that resets the valuation and risk math for investors deciding which AI-chip maker belongs in a retirement portfolio. The market is now pricing two very different futures: flawless multi-year execution at AMD, and a scandal-discounted but cash-rich Nvidia.

What did the selloff do to the valuation gap?

The crash flipped the cheapness comparison in Nvidia's favor. Nvidia now trades at a trailing earnings multiple of 33. AMD trades at 202 — more than six times Nvidia's multiple. Nvidia's free cash flow yield stands at 2.46% against 0.76% for AMD, and its earnings yield is 3.05% against 0.49%. On every valuation measure, AMD's price already assumes years of flawless execution. Nvidia wins the category.

Why is AMD's growth accelerating?

AMD's third quarter delivered revenue of $13.377 billion, up 44.68% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $2.09 against a $1.94 consensus. Data Center sales reached $8.546 billion, up 97%, as Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Oracle brought Helios racks online.

CEO Lisa Su framed the trajectory plainly: "Data center revenue growth has accelerated sequentially every quarter this year." Fourth-quarter guidance calls for approximately $17 billion in revenue, roughly 66% year-over-year growth, and management expects revenue to grow more than 80% in 2027.

Nvidia remains far larger. Its second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue was $96.221 billion, up 105.85%. But the company's fiscal 2028 outlook calls for growth of about 70%, limited by supply. AMD's growth rate is rising while Nvidia's is moderating. AMD wins the category.

Can Nvidia's margins carry the recovery?

Nvidia's profitability still sets the industry standard. The company posts a 71.1% gross margin, a 60.4% operating margin and a 101.5% return on equity. AMD's corresponding figures are 49.5%, 10.7% and 7.19%.

Cash generation shows the same gap. Nvidia produced $21.341 billion of free cash flow last quarter and returned a record $26 billion to shareholders, with roughly $99 billion remaining on its buyback authorization and a $0.25 quarterly dividend. AMD pays no dividend, and its free cash flow fell 70.86% to $554 million as inventory climbed to $11.463 billion.

Nvidia carries real risks of its own. The company stated that "there is no China data center compute revenue in our forward outlook," and margins are expected to bottom at 71% to 72% in the fourth quarter. Even after those pressures, its profitability sits on a different level from AMD's. Nvidia wins the category.

Which stock has the stronger case?

Nvidia wins two of the three categories — valuation and quality — and those two matter most for retirement money, according to 24/7 Wall St.'s analysis. A portfolio built for capital preservation and steady compounding benefits more from a 33x multiple, industry-leading margins and consistent buybacks than from a 202x stock whose cash flow is being absorbed by inventory. AMD also carries higher volatility, illustrated by an 8.75% single-day drop on November 13 alone.

What has to happen for Nvidia to come back?

Three milestones define Nvidia's recovery path:

• A clean result from the independent investigation into Huang's reported ties.
• Delivery against its $108 billion third-quarter revenue guide.
• A Vera Rubin ramp expected to supply about 20% of data center revenue in the third quarter.

Supply, not demand, is the binding constraint. Huang framed it simply: "Even though our demand is much greater than 70%, our supply allows us to confidently deliver 70%." The scandal knocked the stock down, and Nvidia's earnings and cash flow give it the stronger case for recovery.

One consequence of the shakeout extends beyond the two chipmakers. The same Helios and Vera Rubin buildouts that drove AMD's data center surge and Nvidia's guidance have to be powered, cooled and networked by somebody — a supply chain that stands to gain whichever chipmaker wins the week. The next test arrives with Nvidia's attempt to clear its $108 billion bar and the Senate Banking Committee's hearing with Lutnick.