Amazon Just Sent a Massive Warning to Nvidia Investors
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is likely one of those big customers. The cloud computing giant spent over $93 billion in capital expenditures over the last 122 months, primarily focused on building out data centers for artificial intelligence (AI). That number will climb above $100 billion this year. While there's a lot of overhead, including buildings, server racks, networking equipment, and more, a good chunk of that spending goes to Nvidia for its leading-edge GPUs.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
But Nvidia's chips aren't the only ones Amazon uses in its servers, and the company just sent a signal that a competitor could be taking up more space in its data centers this year.
Amazon's newest AI investment
Amazon was caught flat-footed as generative AI took off in late 2022, but it's invested heavily to catch up with its competitors ever since. It made a $4 billion investment in Anthropic early last year, and it added another $4 billion in November. The most recent deal included a strategic partnership where Anthropic will use Amazon's custom silicon for large language model training and inference.
Amazon's custom AI chips are designed in partnership with Marvell Technologies. Marvell also makes networking chips and other data center chips among a broader silicon portfolio. Amazon made a small equity investment in the company in late 2021 well before it chose the chipmaker for its custom Trainium and Inferentia chips.
Amazon recently made another AI investment. Its first-quarter 13F filing with the SEC revealed a purchase of 822,234 shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD). Those shares are worth about $90 million at today's price, which isn't a huge investment for a company generating tens of billions of dollars in free cash flow every quarter. However, that's still enough to make it Amazon's third-largest marketable equity holding in its portfolio.
AMD is Nvidia's closest competitor when it comes to advanced GPUs. It's also the only company Intel has licensed to use its x86 CPU architecture, which is essential for Windows PCs and servers. The chipmaker is well positioned to gain market share on both fronts (GPUs and CPUs), and Amazon's equity investment could signal an acceleration in AMD's sales to the largest cloud computing company in the world.
A $500 billion market
AMD CEO Lisa Su believes the AI accelerator market -- which includes GPUs and custom silicon solutions like Marvell's -- will grow at an average rate of 60% per year from 2025 through 2028 to reach $500 billion. While Nvidia will likely take the bulk of that spend, smaller companies are positioned to gain market share over that period with improved price performance. Not to mention, AMD and other chipmakers offer cloud providers a chance to diversify away from reliance on Nvidia, ensuring Nvidia's chip prices don't balloon out of control.
Indeed, AMD recently struck a deal with Oracle to deploy a cluster of 30,000 AMD MI355X accelerators, which helped push AMD's data center segment revenue 57% higher year over year in the first quarter. AMD's existing data center partnerships for its EPYC CPUs with all the hyperscalers put it in a great position to expand those relationships with its Instinct GPUs.
On top of the opportunity in GPUs, AMD has become a leading provider of CPUs for cloud computing. That can be attributed to Intel falling behind in technological capabilities relative to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, where AMD prints its chips. As a result, AMD can offer better price performance with its more power-efficient chips.
With better CPUs and a competitive GPU lineup, AMD should continue to take up more and more real estate in the hyperscalers' data centers.
Investors can buy AMD stock today for 27-times forward earnings. That's a premium to the overall market, but a discount relative to Nvidia, which trades closer to 32-times earnings. That said, Nvidia continues to grow faster than AMD thanks to its pricing power and scale, so it may deserve a premium to AMD.
Amazon very likely bought shares at a better valuation than investors can get today, but its stake in AMD is a strong indication that the chipmaker is continuing to make progress in gaining market share. Given AMD's solid CPU business and the upside potential of gaining share in the fast-growing AI accelerator market, the stock looks less risky than Nvidia at its current price.
Should you invest $1,000 in Advanced Micro Devices right now?
Before you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Advanced Micro Devices wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $804,688!*
Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is957% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to167%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy has positions in Amazon and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Intel, Nvidia, Oracle, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Marvell Technology and recommends the following options: short May 2025 $30 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Toronto still struggling to track snow plows with GPS, auditor finds
Social Sharing The city's plan to use GPS and field checks to track the work of snow-clearing contractors is still ineffective, Toronto's auditor general found in a new report. The key finding is part of a follow-up review of the city's snow-clearing service, which has been plagued with questions about effectiveness and efficiency, especially after it inked a controversial deal in 2021. Those questions grew louder after Torontonians filed tens of thousands of complaints to 311 in the wake of back-to-back-to-back storms that paralyzed streets this winter. Mayor Olivia Chow, who called last winter's storm response a "failure," is looking forward to reviewing the auditor's latest report, her office said in an emailed statement. "Ultimately, Torontonians expect snow to be cleared — we are going to get it fixed so this doesn't happen again," said Zeus Eden, Chow's press secretary. Auditor Tara Anderson first looked at snow clearing with a damning probe of the service in 2023, which showed the contractors struggled to get equipment on time and hire enough staff. In this follow-up, she found city staff still haven't implemented nine recommendations her office made, despite officials claiming all 30 had been completed. The GPS matter is especially key, her report notes, because it's the primary way the city tracks what work is getting done during a storm and whether it should be applying penalties to the contractors for not getting their plows out on time. "Ongoing GPS dashboard reliability issues hinder the Division's ability to monitor contractor performance," Anderson said in one document. Further, she said, "significant effort is spent manually comparing expected routes with GPS information, which is labour-intensive and time consuming." The auditor's review also shows, for the first time, how much money the city has sought from contractors stemming from performance issues. Anderson found staff are using an "inefficient, unsustainable, and unreliable method" to penalize the companies for non-compliance. Councillors voted in March for a full review of how the city handles its winter operations, which Chow's office said should be released this month. Councillors will first get a chance to ask the auditor questions about this report next Friday. CBC Toronto sent several questions to the transportation services division but did not receive answers by publication time. This story will be updated. New details about how city monitors contractors Some 70 per cent of snow-clearing in Toronto is handled by private companies. In 2021, the city inked a deal that saw two companies and their joint venture win the rights to handle almost all of that work, the only exceptions being the Willowdale area and the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway. Three years in, Anderson found there are still issues with tracking the contractors' performance via GPS. Specifically, her new report states the "GPS dashboard used to monitor route completion is still not effective," noting it also suffers from "reliability issues." Multiple city councillors voiced frustration during the March meeting, recounting times where they were told by staff that streets had been plowed when they could see with their own eyes that wasn't the case. In response, transportation staff noted field audits — when staff go out to check on conditions — also take place. However, Anderson's report shows how little ground is covered by those audits and recommended the city use longer street segments to figure out where things are going wrong. The city's field audits, Anderson found, range in length from 60 metres to 1.36 kilometres. In total, she found the city was reviewing just two per cent of the contract area per storm. Worse, about half of those audits were missing "one or more" pieces of information. Penalties far lower than staff had suggested The auditor has previously flagged major changes to how the city penalizes companies, and this report has some final dollar figures. In 2023-2024, the city charged $43,000 in liquidated damages, Anderson found (liquidated damages are an amount of money, agreed to by both sides during a contract negotiation, to be paid out by one of the parties if a provision of that contract is breached). It also charged $381,000 in disincentives. In 2024-2025 (as of January) the city charged $63,000 in liquidated damages and $195,000 in disincentives.
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Where Will XRP (Ripple) Be in 5 Years?
Key Points Ripple and the SEC have agreed to settle, ending years of legal uncertainty for XRP and its investors. XRP's market cap is now rivaling top credit services stocks, but its payment volume still lags far behind. The cryptocurrency could earn its massive market value over time, but it looks overpriced right now. Cryptocurrencies are often unpredictable. XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is a prime example of this quality. An ominous lawsuit started weighing on the cryptocurrency in December 2020. The suit started to wind down in the first half of 2024, and the Ripple Labs organization launched an XRP-based stablecoin. You'd think the cryptocurrency would soar on the news, but it took a steep dive instead. Then the 2024 elections came along. A more crypto-friendly White House signaled the end of XRP's legal issues, and the cryptocurrency suddenly made up for lost time. Here in early July, 2025, XRP's 5-year returns finally match the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) standard: Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » XRP Price data by YCharts But that's ancient history already. You always have to look forward in the fast-moving cryptocurrency market. Where will XRP go in the next five years -- and is it a good buy right now? Let's have a look. Ripple and SEC are settling their differences The big catalyst every XRP owner was waiting for? Well, that one is playing out right now. Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have agreed to a settlement and withdrawn their appeals, effectively ending the four-year courtroom drama. There are a few more Ts to cross and Is to dot, as Judge Analisa Torres rejected the first settlement draft. The filing, which would end the case and impose a $50 million fine on Ripple Labs, was "procedurally improper." So the lawyers are going back to the drawing board to hammer out a technically complete filing. But it seems like a foregone conclusion that the lawsuit is ending with much lower monetary damages and fewer operating restrictions than the SEC had requested earlier. And this outcome appears to be priced into XRP's chart, with the big jump falling shortly after November's election process. If XRP were a stock... XRP is one of the largest cryptocurrencies at this point, sporting a total market value of $133 billion on July 2. If XRP were a stock, representing the value of the related RippleNet international payments platform, it would be one of the 5 most valuable credit services on Wall Street. The hypothetical XRP market cap would still be far behind sector leaders Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA), whose market caps stand at $685 billion and $509 billion, respectively. But XRP would be a significant force in the credit services industry -- and I don't think that's entirely fair in 2025. Ripple vs. Visa: Spoiler, it's not a fair fight (yet) There are fewer than 23,000 active accounts in the RippleNet transaction ledger. The platform processes about one million payments per day. The Ripple systems have moved "over $1 trillion" between different counterparties, but that's not on a daily or even annual basis. That's the total value processed since the first Ripple transaction was made in 2012. By contrast, Visa's total payment volume was $3.9 trillion in the most recently reported quarter. Visa's transaction volume was 818 million payments per day. Mastercard's business metrics are about half of Visa's, but still many times richer than Ripple's relatively tiny operations. I'm holding, not hoarding, my XRP coins in 2025 Yes, I believe that RippleNet and XRP will earn their stripes over time. However, the cryptocurrency shouldn't be worth about a quarter of Mastercard's market cap, based on vanishingly small transaction volumes and revenue streams. This bullish drama could very well play out over the next five years, finally making a serious Visa rival out of XRP. It's just too early to give XRP that big of a market cap. I'm happy to hold my own XRP coins for the long haul, but this isn't the best time to back up the digital truck and load up on this cryptocurrency. The SEC lawsuit's closure has already been priced into XRP, and I think the big November jump was an overreaction. You might still want to pick up a couple of XRP coins just to get exposure to this cryptocurrency with real-world business prospects. Just keep those purchases slow and small these days. A lower price or a sudden explosion in RippleNet transactions could signal a real buying opportunity over the next few years. Should you invest $1,000 in XRP right now? Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $692,914!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $963,866!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is1,049% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to179%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025
National Post
6 hours ago
- National Post
Trump signs tax-and-spending cut bill at White House ceremony, calls it 'biggest victory yet'
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on July 4, 2025. Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump signed his US$3.4 trillion budget bill into law Friday, enshrining an extension of tax cuts, temporary new breaks for tipped workers and funding to crack down on illegal immigration. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The package encompasses a suite of priorities Trump campaigned on in 2024 — and its enactment at a White House ceremony represents a major political victory for the president whose second term was marked until now by executive rather than legislative action. The legislative milestone reinforces Trump's grip on the Republican Party, whose Capitol Hill leaders muscled the bill through the House and Senate this week. To reach his July 4 target date, Trump worked the phones and summoned some lawmakers to the White House in a pressure campaign to win over key holdouts. Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again 'It's really promises made, promises kept,' Trump said before signing the measure at an outdoor ceremony preceded by an Air Force flyover. After citing what he said were his efforts to restore American strength on the world stage, he called the bill 'the biggest victory yet.' Republican legislative leaders overcame narrow margins, unified opposition from congressional Democrats and objections by fiscal conservatives and moderates to pass the bill before Trump's deadline, which coincided with the Independence Day holiday. Yet the legislative success comes with political risks for the president and Republicans with consequences that could rumble for years. The fiscal package imposes steep cuts and new administrative procedures on nutrition assistance and health programs that provide a safety net for working and unemployed Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the changes will push some 11.8 million Americans off the Medicaid health insurance program. Others have warned that reduced hospital payments could shut down rural medical facilities. The cuts have helped sour the public on Trump's plan, with polls showing it's unpopular. Some Senate Republicans have warned the party could face a backlash at the ballot box. Democrats have vowed to wield the bill against Republicans in the buildup to next year's midterm elections. Trump and his supporters cast the measure as fuel for an economic renaissance, shrugging off nonpartisan projections that the package will drive up the national debt. 'Our country is going to be a rocketship economically,' Trump said, while dismissing polls that suggest the measure is unpopular.
