Chip stocks rallied this week on a wave of strong tech earnings, and investors rewarded semiconductor ETFs with a rush of new cash. Three funds tracking the chip sector ranked among those pulling in the most new money, according to FactSet flow data.
Key Takeaways:
- Strong Big Tech earnings from Microsoft and Amazon helped drive chip stocks higher.
- SMH concentrates far more in Nvidia and TSM than the broader SOXX.
- SOXL’s 3x leverage means bigger swings, built for trading, not holding.
Big Tech earnings fueled the rally. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) jumped 16% Thursday after posting stronger-than-expected growth in its Azure cloud business, CNBC reported.
Meanwhile, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) surged 11% Friday on a second-quarter revenue beat tied to its own cloud strength, according to CNBC. Both reports pointed to heavy spending on AI infrastructure, even as Treasury yields climbed to multiyear highs.
See more: Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL) all capture the same semiconductor trade, but the similarities end there. Index construction, concentration and leverage create different risk profiles for investors choosing among them.
All that AI spending needs chips to run, and semiconductor stocks moved with the rally this week. Shares of SOXX jumped 5.4% Friday, building on an 8.5% rally Thursday, its best day since April 9, 2025, according to CNBC. Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) led the advance.
SOXX led the group with about $4.08 billion in new cash this week. The fund holds $41.6 billion in assets and charges a 0.34% expense ratio, VettaFi data show. Since launching in July 2001, the fund has tracked a modified market-cap-weighted index of 30 U.S.-listed chip companies.
That modified cap-weighting keeps any single stock from dominating the portfolio. AMD is SOXX’s largest holding at 8.6%, followed by Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) at 8.4%, Micron at 8.2% and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) at 7.9%, according to VettaFi. Together, the top 10 holdings make up about 61% of assets.
A Different Take on the Semiconductor Trade
SMH added about $3.3 billion in new cash this week. The fund holds $63.3 billion in assets and charges a 0.35% expense ratio, VettaFi data show. Since launching in May 2000, it has tracked a narrower, market-cap-weighted index of just 25 stocks.
That structure hands outsized influence to the industry’s biggest names. Nvidia alone accounts for 20.8% of SMH’s portfolio, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) at 9.6%, Broadcom at 6.6% and AMD at 5.7%, according to VettaFi. Together, the top 10 holdings represent about 72% of assets, well above SOXX’s level.
SOXL drew about $2.4 billion in new cash this week, the smallest haul of the three. The $15.4 billion fund launched in March 2010 and charges a 0.75% expense ratio. It uses swaps and futures to chase 300% of SOXX’s daily index move, according to VettaFi. AMD and Nvidia remain the fund’s largest direct holdings, though, at 4.9% and 4.8%.
That leverage cuts both ways. SOXL has fallen 15.5% so far in 2026, compared with declines of roughly 4% for SOXX and SMH, according to VettaFi performance data. The fund leans on swaps and futures rather than holding stocks outright. That structure means daily compounding can push returns well away from three times the index over time, better suited to short-term trades than long-term holding.
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