Nvidia vs Intel vs AMD: The AI Chip Race in November 2026
Almost every AI tool you use — ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude — runs on chips made by one of three companies: Nvidia, Intel or AMD. In November 2026, all three reported strong results, and all three saw their shares fall in the AI sell-off. So who is actually winning the race? Let's compare them with real numbers, in simple words.
First, what is the AI chip race?
AI needs enormous computing power. Training and running AI models happens in data centres — huge buildings full of specialised chips. The company that makes the best chips for data centres wins the biggest orders. For the last few years, that company has been Nvidia. Intel and AMD are both trying to catch up, and in 2026 they finally started to show real progress.
Nvidia — the leader, by a long way
Nvidia is the clear leader. In its second quarter of fiscal 2027, reported on 26 August 2026, Nvidia earned revenue of $96.2 billion — up 106% from a year earlier. Its data-centre revenue alone was $89 billion, up 117%. No other chip company is anywhere near that size in AI.
But even the leader fell in the November sell-off. Nvidia shares fell 4.22% to $204.64 in the sell-off, then $173.73 on 12 November (up 2.87% that day) and $162.85 on 13 November (down 2.01%). The next big event is Nvidia's earnings on 17 November 2026, after the market closes — the whole market will be watching that number.
Nvidia also faces a new question: the US Department of Justice has opened inquiries into Nvidia's $12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, the AI platform. That is a regulatory issue, not a business result, but it adds uncertainty at a time when investors are already nervous.
Then, on 11 November 2026, Nvidia's board accepted the resignation of CEO Jensen Huang, effective immediately, after 33 years leading the company he co-founded in 1993. CFO Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor. The announcement gave no reason for the resignation, and the company will report its next earnings on 17 November under Kress. Read the full story in our post: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns: What Happened and What Comes Next.
Intel — a strong quarter, a brutal reaction
Intel is the oldest of the three, and for years it was seen as the company that had fallen behind in AI. Its third-quarter 2026 results, reported on 29 October 2026, told a different story: revenue of $16.51 billion, up 21% from a year earlier and ahead of the $16.44 billion analysts expected. Its data-centre and AI revenue was $7.3 billion, up 78% from a year earlier. That is real growth, not a small improvement.
So why did Intel shares fall 28.58% on 30 October — its worst single day since the 1970s? Because of the forecast. Intel said it expected $15–16 billion of revenue in the fourth quarter, while analysts expected $17.1 billion. The market cared more about the future than about the good quarter that had just ended. Intel is much smaller than Nvidia in AI, but its data-centre growth shows it is still in the race — it just has to prove it can keep growing.
AMD — the fastest riser of the three
AMD is the challenger that has been gaining ground the fastest. In the third quarter of 2026, AMD earned revenue of $13.4 billion, up 45% from a year earlier, with data-centre revenue nearly doubling. It forecast $17 billion of revenue for the fourth quarter and said it expects revenue to grow more than 80% in 2027.
Those are strong numbers, but AMD fell too. On 13 November, AMD shares fell 8.75% to $534.06 — even though on the rebound day of 12 November they had risen 7.32% to $552.90. That swing shows how nervous the market is: the same company can rise 7% one day and fall almost 9% the next, on the same set of facts.
The comparison, side by side
Nvidia is the biggest by far — $89 billion of data-centre revenue in a single quarter, growing 117%. AMD is growing fast from a smaller base, with revenue up 45% and an 80%-plus growth forecast for 2027. Intel is the comeback story: $7.3 billion of data-centre and AI revenue, up 78%, but a weaker forecast that the market punished hard.
The lesson is that size, growth and forecasts all matter — and the market punishes the weakest link. Nvidia leads on size, AMD leads on growth momentum, and Intel has the most to prove, because its forecast disappointed even after a strong quarter.
Why did all three fall anyway?
If all three companies are growing, why did all three fall? Because the sell-off was about the whole AI theme, not about any one company. Investors worried that data-centre spending may not produce returns fast enough, that data-centre building could face political restrictions after the US midterm results of 3 November, and that heavy debt at some AI infrastructure companies could become a problem. When that kind of doubt arrives, investors sell the whole sector first and ask questions later.
What should beginners watch next?
Three things. First, Nvidia's earnings on 17 November 2026 — if Nvidia beats expectations and gives a strong forecast, the whole sector could recover; if it disappoints, the fall could continue. Second, the next forecasts from Intel and AMD — the market now cares more about what comes next than about what just happened. Third, the data-centre question — whether building new data centres stays easy or becomes harder, because that decides how much chip demand there will be.
Final words
The AI chip race is real, and all three companies are growing. Nvidia leads, AMD is catching up fast, and Intel is fighting back. But November 2026 proved that even leaders fall when the market's mood changes. For a beginner, the takeaway is simple: don't judge a company by one day's share price. Judge it by its revenue, its growth, its forecasts — and by whether you actually understand what it does.
In the next post: Why AI stocks fell even though profits were strong — the paradox explained.
Sources: Reuters, company earnings reports, November 2026.