Cathie Wood Makes Big Rotation Out of AMD

What happened

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest bought 1,161,604 Archer Aviation shares worth about $4.6 million and 434,012 Joby Aviation shares worth roughly $2.6 million on Monday, Oct. 26. At the same time, its funds sold 24,796 AMD shares worth about $13.2 million.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

The trade shifts money from AMD, a chipmaker whose stock is up sharply on AI demand, into two air-taxi companies whose shares have fallen steeply. For investors, this signals ARK is accepting more risk in exchange for potentially larger gains if certification and commercialization succeed.

Analyst inference

AMD shares have surged roughly 148% this year on AI accelerator hopes, while Archer is down about 48% and Joby roughly 64% in 2026. That gap means ARK's move is less a sector shift and more a swap between crowded winners and beaten-down speculative names.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. AMD is preparing to ramp its next-generation MI450 AI processors, which are expected to play an important role in deployments involving customers such as OpenAI and Oracle. Confirmed
2. Archer continues working toward commercial certification for its Midnight aircraft, which means regulatory approval to carry passengers, while expanding beyond passenger air taxis and planning to acquire Boeing-related aviation assets. Proposed
3. AMD has warned that ramping production could pressure gross margins, which means profit per sale, even as AI revenue climbs, so investors should watch whether cost pressures offset the revenue gains. Analyst inference

Evidence

• gurufocus.com