Wells Fargo turns cautious on chips as AI spending nears a peak

Sep 03, 2026

Wells Fargo is warning that the AI chip boom peaks in 2027, which is bad for semiconductor stocks near-term but not yet for the wider market.

  • Spending on chips and computing gear now eats up a bigger slice of the economy than the dot-com or 1800s railroad booms did.
  • The worry is 2027 is the top year for that spending, and 2028 looks weak — leaving chip stocks with maybe another 10% to fall.
  • Borrowing costs are climbing because governments, private companies and hyperscalers are all fighting for the same money, making huge new AI projects harder to justify.
  • Broadcom tells a very different story, guiding for AI revenue to double, then double again by 2028 — its customers are Google, Meta and Anthropic.
  • The counter-take: chip weakness is momentum, not fundamentals, as money rotates into software names like Palantir and Salesforce with strong cash flow.

Outlook: Chips may stay under pressure into the midterms, with the bigger test being whether Anthropic's IPO proves AI customers can keep paying for the buildout.

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