Selling Pressure in Chip Stocks Is Easing. Is SMH the Best Way to Play the Rebound?
This 12 months has been a wild trip for the chip sector; there is not any denying it. In February, amazon, Alphabet, Goaland others all predicted monumental capital expenditures for 2026 to construct out their artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. That brought about an investor panic that worn out $1 trillion in quick order in AI shares, adopted by a tough March amid the ongoing chaos brought on by the Iran struggle.
Amid all this volatility, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH +3.20%) — regardless of dipping 13% between the finish of January and the finish of March — is up 30% over the previous month, and 40% 12 months to date. It appears as if no quantity of uncertainty is derailing this practice.
If you need a one-ticker play on the complete trade with out betting on a single firm, SMH provides a means to trip the persevering with innovation whereas navigating the turbulence.
Image supply: Getty Images.
The ETF of semiconductor leaders
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF’s holdings are basically the chip industry’s “greatest hits” grouped right into a single ticker. The bulk of them (about 78%) are primarily based in the United States, whereas the remaining 22% is dominated by the Netherlands and Taiwan. Its high 10 inventory holdings and their allocation in the ETF’s portfolio are:
- Nvidia: 17%
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing: 10.5%
- Broadcom: 7.95%
- Intel: 7%
- Advanced Micro Devices: 6.17%
- Texas Instruments: 5%
- Micron Technology: 4.9%
- Analog Devices: 4.49%
- Qualcomm: 4.31%
- Kla Corp: 4.26%
All these shares revenue in a way from the AI capex plans of the Magnificent Seven and lots of different firms.
Nvidia is the most dominant AI {hardware} firm in the world, and its graphics processing items (GPUs) are utilized by nearly each AI software program firm.
Taiwan Semiconductor is the largest chip producer globally, liable for 72% of the whole pure foundry market.
Broadcom is Google’s accomplice in creating the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), one in every of the largest rivals to Nvidia’s GPU.
Micron is one in every of solely three firms that dominate the international reminiscence chip market. It produces the HBM4 reminiscence chip for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin GPU, and it stands to revenue handsomely from the international reminiscence scarcity we’re in proper now.
I may go on, however I believe you get the thought.

VanEck ETF Trust – VanEck Semiconductor ETF
Today’s Change
(3.20%) $16.20
Current Price
$522.99
Key Data Points
Day’s Range
$514.33 – $526.20
52wk Range
$214.19 – $526.20
Volume
7.5K
A hassle-free entry to AI leaders
The ETF provides you publicity to all these shares and 16 extra, with an expense ratio of 0.35% and a median lifetime annual return of 26.92% per 12 months. That’s greater than double the S&P 500’s common annual return of about 10%.
It has a three-month common quantity of 9.2 million shares as nicely, so it is very broadly traded, and you should not have any drawback entering into or out of a place in it.
If you need to revenue from the AI {hardware} market’s seemingly unstoppable growth, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF is one in every of the most straightforward methods to do it.
James Hires has positions in Alphabet and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Broadcom, Intel, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Texas Instruments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
