US tech stocks under pressure as AI growth shows signs of cooling

U.S. tech stocks came under pressure on Friday, driven by concerns about the rapid pace of investment in AI and a series of disappointing earnings reports in the semiconductor sector. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2%, closing out a week in which the tech-heavy index struggled to maintain recent highs.

Semiconductor sector hit hard

Among the notable tumblers, Marvell Technology plunged nearly 19%, resembling Bitcoin’s early days, after revealing that its data center revenue had failed to meet market expectations.

The stock was downgraded from “buy” to “neutral” by Bank of America in response to these earnings. Meanwhile, Nvidia, whose market capitalization makes it the largest listed semiconductor company globally, dropped 3.3% on Friday.

The company flagged ongoing uncertainty in its sales to China, largely due to U.S. export restrictions impacting its AI chips.

For the week, Nvidia shares fell 2.1%, marking their steepest weekly decline since May. Broader weakness in chipmakers dragged the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to its lowest point since mid-April.

The S&P 500 also retreated, down 0.6% for its largest single-day drop of the month, though it still managed to finish August up 1.9%. The tech stocks selling is likely attributed to investors taking profits near month-end, especially after a hot August when technology shares led markets to record levels.

Tech stocks overheated and China uncertainties loom

Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars of investment already poured into data centers fueling generative AI projects like ChatGPT, actual revenues in this space remain relatively modest.

According to Morgan Stanley, generative AI products from major cloud providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google brought in about $45 billion last year.