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 | $34,005 | +3,300.5% |
| MicronMU | $22,293 | +2,129.3% |
| BroadcomAVGO | $14,442 | +1,344.2% |
| MarvellMRVL | $12,738 | +1,173.8% |
| AMDAMD | $12,360 | +1,136.0% |
| TSMCTSM | $9,912 | +891.2% |
| AmkorAMKR | $8,241 | +724.1% |
| CadenceCDNS | $5,205 | +420.5% |
| SynopsysSNPS | $3,024 | +202.4% |
| QualcommQCOM | $2,490 | +149.0% |
| IntelINTC | $2,476 | +147.6% |
| MicrochipMCHP | $2,121 | +112.1% |
The top tier: Nvidia, Micron, Broadcom
These three companies have one thing in common: direct AI infrastructure exposure. Nvidia makes the GPUs. Micron makes the HBM memory they need, and its 2025-2026 memory supercycle vaulted it past most of the field. Broadcom makes the networking chips connecting it all. Together, they represent the physical layer that AI runs on.
The middle tier: design and packaging
AMD, Marvell, TSMC, Amkor, Cadence, and Synopsys all returned between roughly +202.4% and +1,173.8%. These companies design chips (AMD, Marvell), manufacture them (TSMC, Amkor), or build the tools to design them (Synopsys, Cadence). Strong returns, but not the 14x-34x of the top tier.
Intel: from cautionary tale to laggard
$1,000 in Intel in 2020 is worth about $2,476 today, a +147.6% gain. For most of this window Intel was the cautionary tale, underwater while every peer soared, after it fell behind TSMC in manufacturing, lost CPU share to AMD, and missed the AI GPU wave. A sharp 2026 rebound finally pushed it back into the black, but it still sits 11th of 12 on this list. Being the biggest chip company in the world bought investors a fraction of what the AI leaders delivered.
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 about $434,344 today. AMD since 2015 turned $1,000 into $226,035. Even TSMC turned $1,000 into $28,250. 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.
Related: Nvidia vs the S&P 500 over five years | AI stocks since 2020