Semiconductor Stocks: 5-Year Returns Compared
Semiconductors are the backbone of every major tech trend: AI, cloud computing, EVs, smartphones, data centers. But not all chip stocks have performed equally. We compared 12 semiconductor companies side by side to see who delivered and who didn't.
Since 2020: the AI era
$1,000 invested in January 2020 in each of these chip stocks would be worth the following today:
| Company | $1K became | Return |
|---|---|---|
| NvidiaNVDA | $29,389 | +2,839% |
| BroadcomAVGO | $11,827 | +1,083% |
| MicronMU | $8,164 | +716% |
| TSMCTSM | $6,834 | +583% |
| AmkorAMKR | $4,378 | +338% |
| AMDAMD | $4,284 | +328% |
| CadenceCDNS | $3,937 | +294% |
| MarvellMRVL | $3,757 | +276% |
| SynopsysSNPS | $2,849 | +185% |
| QualcommQCOM | $1,750 | +75% |
| MicrochipMCHP | $1,457 | +46% |
| IntelINTC | $778 | -22% |
The top tier: Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron
These three companies have one thing in common: direct AI infrastructure exposure. Nvidia makes the GPUs. Broadcom makes the networking chips connecting them. Micron makes the HBM memory they need. Together, they represent the physical layer that AI runs on.
The middle tier: design and packaging
TSMC, AMD, Cadence, Synopsys, Marvell, and Amkor all returned between +185% and +583%. These companies design chips (AMD, Marvell), manufacture them (TSMC, Amkor), or build the tools to design them (Synopsys, Cadence). Solid returns, but not the 10x-30x of the top tier.
Intel: the cautionary tale
$1,000 in Intel in 2020 is worth just $778 today. Intel is the only semiconductor stock on this list that lost money. The company fell behind TSMC in manufacturing, lost market share to AMD in CPUs, and missed the AI GPU wave entirely. Being the biggest chip company in the world didn't protect investors from a company that failed to execute.
Since 2015: the longer view
Zoom out to a 10-year window and the gap gets even wider. $1,000 in Nvidia in 2015 is worth over $375,000 today. AMD since 2015 turned $1,000 into $78,339. Even TSMC turned $1,000 into $19,476. The semiconductor sector has been one of the best-performing sectors of the last decade, driven first by smartphones, then cloud computing, now AI.
Compare any two chip stocks head-to-head, or browse all technology investments.