The iShares Semiconductor ETF Is Obliterating the S&P 500 in 2026, but Is It Still a Buy? The Answer Might Surprise You. - Yahoo Finance

In 2026, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) has significantly outperformed the S&P 500, with a return of 108% so far this year compared to just 10% for the index. This surge is largely driven by its... Read original →

SOXX’s 108% surge in 2026 reflects not just AI euphoria but a fragile tech stack built on narrow bottlenecks. HBM and 3nm nodes are tightly coupled to EUV tools, giving ASML, Lam Research, and KLA de facto gatekeeper status. Any U.S. export control expansion would destabilize supply chains across Taiwan, China, and South Korea—and hurt U.S. vendors’ own revenues. While NVIDIA and AMD dominate training chips, Qualcomm is aggressively targeting edge AI with custom NPUs, and Intel’s data center rebound masks its advanced packaging capacity shortfall. Over the next 12–24 months, the battleground will shift from raw compute to power efficiency, with HBM4 ramp and CoWoS yield as decisive factors. Current ETF valuations have priced in 2027 earnings—investors should brace for volatility from top-heavy exposure and pivot toward under-the-radar equipment and materials leaders.