These Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Have Crushed Nvidia in 2026 With Gains of 67% and 121%. They Can Still Soar Higher - The Globe and Mail

In 2026, despite NVIDIA's continued dominance in the artificial intelligence sector, its stock has only gained 12%, significantly underperforming the semiconductor sector's 74% rise. In contrast, Lume... Read original →

NVIDIA’s modest 12% stock gain in 2026—dwarfed by Lumentum’s 121% and Applied Materials’ 67%—signals a strategic pivot in AI investing: from algorithmic chips to physical infrastructure. Technologically, photonics and advanced packaging now dictate scaling limits; Lumentum’s optical interconnects alleviate AI cluster bottlenecks, while Applied Materials dominates the EUV and 3nm DRAM equipment surge backing TSMC and Samsung expansions. Geopolitically, U.S. export controls on semiconductor tools ironically boost order visibility for suppliers serving Taiwan, China and Korea as local sourcing accelerates. Competitively, ASML and Coherent will likely integrate photonics into wafer-scale platforms, forcing Micron to recalibrate capex for HBM4. Over the next 18 months, ‘invisible champions’ in optics and equipment will command sustained valuation premiums as silicon-photonics convergence crystallizes—and capital efficiency shifts decisively away from pure-play chip design.