Analysts’ Picks for the Best Chip Stock in 2025

The semiconductor chip industry is once again in the limelight in 2025, where the performance of chip stocks has attracted most of the attention of market. On one hand, the demand for artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the latest generation Datacenter chips, the trade conflicts between the U.S and China, and the tariff policies by both sides are among the reasons that have caused both headwinds and tailwinds for the semiconductor sector.

Meanwhile, the U.S government has been actively promoting domestic production of semiconductors in order to reduce reliance on countries abroad. Nvidia, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices are the ones most directly affected and have been on the radar of Wall Street analysts the most. Every company is taking a different path to capture the growth led by artificial intelligence (AI), while Wall Street analysts remain divided about which chip stock provides the best investment case.

Nvidia’s Momentum

Nvidia has solidified its position as the AI chip leader, reporting second-quarter results that were beyond what was expected, both in revenue and earnings. Investors were somewhat concerned with slower than expected growth in Data Center revenue, which at 56% year over year, was still quite strong. The company’s overall AI-driven outlook is still miles ahead of any other competitor.

The company looks forward to $3 trillion to $4 trillion of AI infrastructure spending by 2030, with Nvidia being the firm at the core of this progression. Stifel’s analyst Ruben Roy has mentioned a buy rating of Nvidia with a price target of $212, supporting the Q3 positive outlook of $54 billion of revenue, where the Data Center segment is expected to make the most of the demand.

The sentiment on Wall Street is very positive overall with 35 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell, along with an average price target of $211.14, suggesting a potential upside of 23.8%. With 27% up to date this year, Nvidia is still investors’ preferred pick.

Intel, a Government-Backed Underdog

Recently, the stock of Intel has been on an upward trend, which is mainly due to considerable investment of $5.7 billion from the U.S government, and another $2 billion investment from SoftBank. These steps indicate the U.S administration’s solution to restore its dominance in the semiconductor industry locally. The stock has been up approximately 20% from the beginning of the year, with a very good performance during the last month.

Even with such a good run, the analysts still have a vigilant view. Intel has been ineffectively positioning itself to take advantage of the AI trend, thus gradually giving away its market share to the competitors. Joe Moore of Morgan Stanley confirmed a Hold rating with a target price of $23. He mentioned the lack of Intel’s strategic clarity, server leadership, and the long-term viability of foundry plans as a reason for his decision.

The hesitance of Wall Street is similar to that of the analyst’s reports, which is 26 Holds, three Sells, and only one Buy, along with an average price target of $22.34, which is about 7% lower than the current stock price. So far, Intel’s turnaround battle is a risky wager that is mainly kept alive by government support rather than the market trend.

AMD, a Contender on the Rise

Despite some headwinds, AMD has risen 34% since the beginning of 2025, driven by positive expectations of its AI chip releases and the persistent need for inference-based products. Whereas Nvidia rules on the training side of AI, AMD is targeting success in inference with their MI355 chip and MI400 GPUs, along with its indistinct demand for their EPYC server processors.

William Stein from Truist Securities recently changed the rating on AMD from Neutral to Buy with a target price of $213. He pointed out that the perception of large data center users has changed significantly. After being considered an emergency reserve only, AMD is the company that is sought as a potential partner for huge AI projects now.

A Moderate consensus of a Buy is held by Wall Street, with 25 Buys and 10 Holds. The average price target of $184.74 implies a 14% upside from the current level. With stronger market credibility and strategic collaborations, AMD has become the most credible challenger against Nvidia.

Analysts Favorite

It is well known that Nvidia stays the number one choice out of the whole group on Wall Street. The reason for this is Nvidia’s supremacy in AI GPUs, their huge scale, and growth that is not only apparent but also quite promising. AMD is turning out to be a powerful rival with a semiconductor potential of growth led by the development of inference chips and signing new partnerships.

Intel, on the other hand, has a very difficult path to follow. The company depends heavily on raising capital from outside sources, along with a complicated recovery plan in order to get back the ground that it has lost.

At the end of the day, investors who are looking for the future of AI will have to make a choice between getting certainty, going with the momentum, or picking a high-risk turnaround story.

Nvidia is still the ultimate champion, yes it’s expensive, but still stands at the forefront of the AI revolution. AMD demonstrates that the market can be surprised by the underdogs, making the available space for the company to keep the upside relevant. On the other hand, Intel is the warning sign with a lesson that even the biggest can fall if the pace of innovation slows.

The decision of Wall Street is straightforward, which is to invest in Nvidia for the leadership, take AMD for diversification, and consider Intel as a story of patience instead of a must have stock.