Which Artificial Intelligence (AI) Supercycle Stock Will Make You Richer Over the Next 10 Years?

By Daniel Sparks – Apr 6, 2026 at 7:12PM ESTKey PointsAMD's data center business is already scaling fast, with segment revenue up 39% year over year in the fourth quarter.Intel's turnaround still depends on multiple moving parts. By some metrics, Intel looks like the cheaper investment. But AMD looks like the lower-risk way to invest behind the AI compute build-out today. The artificial intelligence (AI) supercycle is creating huge opportunities across chips and data center infrastructure. And at a glance, both Advanced Micro Devices (AMD +1.23%) and Intel (INTC +0.77%) look like reasonable ways to invest in that trend. Both have products tied to AI data centers, and both are trying to win a bigger slice of the next wave of computing demand. But when comparing the two, I think one of these two chip companies is a better long-term bet than the other: AMD. Intel may have more potential if its turnaround goes well. But AMD already has a more established business in key growth areas -- and that arguably gives it a meaningfully lower risk profile right now. Image source: The Motley Fool. AMD's momentum AMD's latest results look like what investors should want from an AI supercycle stock. The company's fourth-quarter revenue rose 34% year over year to a record $10.3 billion. Driving this growth, AMD's data center revenue climbed 39% to $5.4 billion, driven by EPYC server processors (high-performance x86 processors for servers and data centers), and the continued ramp of Instinct graphics processing units (GPUs) shipments. Momentum is strong on a full-year basis, too. AMD's 2025 revenue rose 34% to $34.6 billion, while data center revenue increased 32% to $16.6 billion. AMD also generated $4.3 billion in net income for the year. ExpandNASDAQ: AMDAdvanced Micro DevicesToday's Change(1.23%) $2.68Current Price$220.18Key Data PointsMarket Cap$355BDay's Range$217.73 - $226.3152wk Range$76.48 - $267.08Volume31MAvg Vol38MGross Margin45.99% And the company expects this momentum to continue. AMD said first-quarter 2026 revenue should be about $9.8 billion, plus or minus $300 million, which represents about 32% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. Lisa Su said in AMD's fourth-quarter release that the company is entering 2026 with "strong momentum" as adoption of EPYC and its Ryzen CPU processors accelerates and its data center AI business scales. The balance sheet also helps make a good case for the stock. AMD finished 2025 with about $10.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments (up 106% year over year) and about $3.2 billion of total debt. In the fourth quarter alone, the company generated record free cash flow of about $2.1 billion. Intel still has to prove too many things at once Intel's business is certainly showing some notable improvement in some areas. Its data center and AI segment grew 9% year over year in the fourth quarter and 5% for full-year 2025. But not only is that growth slower than AMD's, but the overall picture still looks much messier. Intel's fourth-quarter revenue declined 4% year over year to $13.7 billion, and full-year revenue was essentially flat at $52.9 billion. Additionally, its client computing group revenue fell 3% for the year, and total Intel Products revenue declined 1%. ExpandNASDAQ: INTCIntelToday's Change(0.77%) $0.39Current Price$50.77Key Data PointsMarket Cap$252BDay's Range$49.88 - $52.3852wk Range$17.66 - $54.60Volume2.5MAvg Vol108MGross Margin35.24% The bigger issue is that Intel is still trying to fix too many things at once. Its Intel foundry segment generated $17.8 billion of revenue in 2025, but it also posted an operating loss of $10.3 billion. Meanwhile, Intel's first-quarter 2026 outlook calls for non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $0.00. Cheaper is not always safer As of this writing, AMD's market cap is about $359 billion, compared with about $255 billion for Intel. Additionally, on a price-to-sales basis, Intel stock is far cheaper. Intel trades at about 4 times trailing-12-month sales, and AMD trades at approximately 10 times sales. So yes, Intel looks cheaper on the surface. But I think that discount reflects the very real risks Intel faces. With Intel, investors need a lot to work, including the scaling of its foundry business, success with new products, margin expansion, and improved financial discipline. With AMD, investors are betting on a stock that is already profitable and is already growing rapidly. AMD is not risk-free, of course. Nvidia is still the dominant AI chip company, and hyperscalers like Amazon and Alphabet are investing heavily in their own custom AI silicon. With all of this said, if I had to choose just one of these stocks today, I would buy AMD. I think it is the more attractive stock because it gives investors exposure to the AI supercycle through a more established business in areas where strong demand is already evident -- especially data center CPUs and AI accelerators. Intel stock could work if its turnaround continues to gain traction. But I believe AMD is the stock more likely to make investors richer from here -- particularly over a long period like 10 years -- because the path is simpler, the proof is stronger, and the risk profile is lower.Read NextApr 5, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerGot $5,000? 5 Agentic AI Growth Stocks to Buy Before Wall Street Catches On.Apr 4, 2026 •By Anthony Di PizioThe S&P 500 Sank by 5% Last Month, but Here's Why This Super Semiconductor Stock Bucked the Sell-OffApr 2, 2026 •By Harsh Chauhan2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks I'd Buy With $1,000 Before They Rebound From the Tech Sell-OffMar 31, 2026 •By Geoffrey Seiler2 AI Chip Stocks I'd Buy Before Their Next Earnings ReportsMar 30, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPAWhy the Second Half of 2026 Could Be Huge for AMD StockMar 30, 2026 •By Jack CaporalThe AI Stocks Hedge Funds Love the MostAbout the AuthorDaniel Sparks is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology, industrials, financials, and consumer goods. Daniel is the owner and chief investment officer of Sparks Capital Management. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Colorado State University. The Globe and Mail profiled him and his investing philosophy in an article titled, “This stock picker is outperforming nearly everybody else. Here’s how he is doing it.”TMFDanielSparksX@sparks_capitalStocks MentionedAdvanced Micro DevicesNASDAQ: AMD$220.18(+1.23%)+$2.68IntelNASDAQ: INTC$50.78(+0.79%)+$0.40AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOGL$299.99(+1.43%)+$4.22AmazonNASDAQ: AMZN$212.77(+1.43%)+$3.00AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOG$297.66(+1.09%)+$3.20*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.