This Semiconductor ETF Is Up 54% This Year and Refuses to Own Intel - Yahoo Finance

In 2026, the VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF (SMHX) has surged 54.22% year-to-date, driven by its focus on fabless semiconductor designers such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm, while explicitly excluding inte... Read original →

VanEck’s SMHX surge underscores a structural shift in semiconductor value chains—from manufacturing to design. Technically, AI accelerators and 3nm mobile SoCs rely heavily on TSMC’s EUV capacity, leaving fabless firms exposed to geopolitical fragility in Taiwan, China; any disruption risks yield and delivery across the ecosystem. Regulatory pressures like the U.S. CHIPS Act inflate IDM operating costs without eroding the high-margin appeal of pure-play design. Intel may be forced to spin off its foundry unit to regain investor favor, while NVIDIA and Qualcomm deepen co-design partnerships with TSMC’s CoWoS packaging. Over the next 12–24 months, slowing AI capex could amplify SMHX volatility due to concentration risk—but design-centric innovation will retain premium valuation as the true engine of semiconductor advancement.