Billionaire Investor Stanley Druckenmiller Sold Broadcom, Intel, and Micron and Bought Another Chip Stock That Expects to Double Data Center Sales in 2027

Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne Family Office reported about $5.2 billion in U.S. equity holdings at the end of the second quarter. But its relatively small positions in Intel, Micron, and Broadcom -- all initially purchased in the first quarter -- were gone by the end of the quarter on June 30.

Instead, the legendary investor, with a multi-decade record of beating the market, opened a new position in Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD). While Druckenmiller is not as heavily invested in artificial intelligence stocks as he was a few years ago, he appears to remain bullish on the impact this technology could have on the economy and continues to make selective bets.

Stanley Druckenmiller. Image source: Getty Images.

Making room for other opportunities

Druckenmiller was among the first to spot opportunities in AI. However, with valuations now elevated, he is now more selective about which stocks he buys. In a recent Hard Lessons interview with Morgan Stanley, he said, "We still have dribs and drabs of AI around, but it's not driving the engine anymore to some extent."

He initiated small positions in Intel, Micron, and Broadcom in the first quarter, which together accounted for about 2.5% of reported assets in his Form 13F. Intel and Micron have more than doubled year to date. Micron has benefited from a memory shortage that's pushed revenue sharply higher, while Intel is delivering its strongest revenue growth in more than a decade. After that kind of run, though, Druckenmiller may view those companies' forward growth as more fully priced in.

Broadcom remains positioned for AI data center spending, with second-quarter revenue up 48% year over year. But after a modest 5% year-to-date gain, Druckenmiller may simply see better risk/reward elsewhere.

AMD has also had a big run this year, with the shares up 120% to date, but Druckenmiller may see it as a better buy given the upcoming launch of a major new data center product.

Druckenmiller buys AMD ahead of Helios launch

Druckenmiller's new position in AMD accounted for roughly 0.8% of reported assets in the second quarter. A major catalyst is its upcoming Helios rack-scale system, with OpenAI, Meta Platforms, Anthropic, and Microsoft lined up to deploy it in their data centers.

AMD appears positioned for the growth in AI inference workloads. Inference has become bigger than training as models move from learning to being used at scale. AMD has aligned its product roadmap to benefit from that shift.

Last quarter, AMD's data center revenue more than doubled year over year to $6.7 billion, and management has guided for data center sales to double again in 2027 relative to full-year 2026 revenue.

A key advantage for AMD is its chiplet architecture. This modular approach helps reduce manufacturing costs and eliminate waste in the production process. Druckenmiller may be betting that this will drive robust earnings growth that exceeds consensus estimates, which often leads to a rerating of a stock's valuation.

CEO Lisa Su recently raised AMD's long-term outlook: "We now see the overall market for high performance and AI computing growing approximately 40% annually over the next several years, approaching $2 trillion by 2030, and we expect to grow well above the market," she said.

AMD now expects to "significantly exceed" its previous $20 annual earnings target. Faster growth, a larger market, and higher earnings expectations typically support a higher share price.

Should you follow Druckenmiller into AMD?

Druckenmiller seems to see AMD at the front end of a major inference-driven opportunity. AMD still has to prove it can take market share from Nvidia, but early demand signals for Helios suggest it has a real shot.

However, investors shouldn't blindly follow Druckenmiller. Given his tendency to sometimes exit positions after one quarter, as well as the 45-day delay before a new Form 13F is released after each quarter-end, investors should do their own research on AMD before buying shares.

John Ballard has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Intel, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.