AI Chip Stocks Slide on OpenAI Revenue Report, but Analysts Call the Selloff Overdone

Shares of Micron, Nvidia and several other AI chip makers dropped after a report suggested that OpenAI's annualized revenue had fallen short of what investors expected. The move was sharp enough to ripple across the semiconductor sector, where AI hardware has been one of the market's main growth stories.

The selloff, however, may have more to do with how the number was read than with what it measures. Analysts quoted in coverage of the report argue that annualized revenue figures can be calculated in several ways, and that differences in method can make a company look weaker or stronger on paper without any change in underlying business. In their view, the shortfall points to a reporting issue rather than a drop in the appetite for AI computing power.

That distinction matters for chipmakers. Companies like Nvidia and Micron sell into a broad base of cloud providers, enterprise buyers and AI developers, so a single firm's revenue figure is only one signal among many. Investors who sold on the headline may have reacted to a number that did not capture the full picture of spending on data center infrastructure.

Still, the episode is a reminder of how heavily the AI trade now depends on expectations for a small number of high-profile customers. When a report casts doubt on one of those companies, the impact can reach far beyond its own balance sheet. Traders will be watching for clarification from OpenAI and for more detailed data on how the revenue figure was built.

For now, the analyst consensus leans toward calling the drop an overreaction. If demand for AI chips remains intact, the sell-off could prove a short-lived pause rather than the start of a broader correction.