February 5 Market Recap: AMD’s Sharp Decline Triggers Chip Stock Collapse; Bitcoin Drops Below $73,000
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
February 5 Market Recap: AMD’s Sharp Decline Triggers Chip Stock Collapse; Bitcoin Drops Below $73,000
If Google or Amazon’s earnings reports fall short of expectations, tech stocks could plunge further.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
U.S. Equities: AMD’s “Earnings Disaster” Ignites Tech Sell-Off
Today’s spotlight is on AMD, whose earnings report triggered a tech-sector bloodbath.
On the surface, the results looked solid:
- Q4 revenue of $10.27 billion, beating expectations of $9.67 billion
- Adjusted EPS of $1.53, surpassing estimates of $1.32
- Q1 guidance of $9.8 billion (±$300 million), slightly above the consensus forecast of $9.38 billion
So why did the market erupt in fury?
The issue isn’t the numbers—it’s the gap between expectations and reality. Some Wall Street analysts had anticipated a far more aggressive outlook from AMD, given the ongoing AI boom. When the guidance turned out to be only “modestly above expectations” rather than “significantly above,” investors voted with their feet.
Even more damaging: uncontrolled operating expenses. AMD’s operating expenses exceeded guidance by $200 million—marking yet another quarter of overspending.
JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur was blunt: “AMD has been consistently ‘overspending,’ eroding profitability.”
The ripple effect sent AMD plunging 17%; Broadcom down 7%; Micron down 11%; Lam Research down 10%; Applied Materials down 9%; NVIDIA down 3%; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index sharply lower—effectively slaughtering the entire chip sector.
The software sector’s nightmare continues. The iShares Expanded Tech–Software ETF (IGV) fell another 4% today, down a cumulative 17% over the past week.
The panic stems from Anthropic’s release last week of an AI automation tool capable of handling legal work. Markets suddenly realized: AI isn’t just software’s assistant—it may be software’s terminator.
If AI can automatically draft legal documents, generate code, and manage customer relationships, can subscription-based SaaS business models survive?
Not all tech stocks collapsed today—some posted gains:
Eli Lilly surged 8%: Q4 results vastly exceeded expectations; 2026 guidance: revenue of $80–83 billion (consensus: $77.6 billion), EPS of $33.5–35 (consensus: $33.23); weight-loss drug Zepbound sales rose 122%, diabetes drug Mounjaro up 110%.
Super Micro Computer rose 10%: Q2 results beat expectations; full-year guidance raised to $40 billion (consensus: $36.1 billion); robust demand for AI servers.
Amgen gained 3.67%: Strong earnings propelled healthcare stocks—the rare safe haven today.
Uber fell 5%; Chipotle plunged 6%—further confirming that U.S. consumers are tightening their belts.
Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin Breaks Below $74,000, Hits 16-Month Low
This afternoon, Bitcoin briefly dropped below $73,000, marking its lowest level since November 2024.
Ethereum fell below $2,200.
Why did Bitcoin fall harder than tech stocks?
Bitcoin’s correlation with the Nasdaq is extremely high. As AMD’s collapse triggered a semiconductor selloff—and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%—Bitcoin, as the “king of risk assets,” naturally declined even more sharply.
Interestingly, mining firms pivoting to AI infrastructure also crashed today:
Cipher Mining fell over 10%; IREN down over 10%; Hut 8 down over 10%.
Why? AMD’s plunge prompted markets to question the return on investment in AI infrastructure. These companies had just shifted from “mining” to “AI compute”—only to confront growing fears of an AI bubble bursting.
The sole bright spot: TeraWulf rose 12%, driven by its acquisition of two U.S. industrial sites—but this remains an outlier.
Hasegawa of Japanese crypto analytics firm Bitbank stated: “$70,000 may serve as a critical short-term floor. A meaningful break below this level could necessitate a major reset in market conditions.”
Precious Metals: Gold Breaks Above $5,000, Gaining Strong Momentum
Gold extends its rebound, surging past the $5,000 mark
Spot gold closed around $5,010–$5,050 per ounce, rising over 2% intraday—continuing yesterday’s rally following its biggest single-day gain since 2008 (a 6% surge).
Silver continued its explosive rally, climbing 7% to reclaim levels above $85.
Why is gold sustaining its rebound?
From last Friday’s peak near $5,600 to Monday’s low near $4,400, gold plunged over 20%. Such a sharp drop flushed out leveraged positions and created attractive entry points.
Long-term investors and central banks seized the opportunity to accumulate at lower levels. After yesterday’s 6% surge, today’s further gains signal exceptionally strong buying conviction.
The U.S. Dollar Index fell today, lending support to gold. The yuan strengthened to a 2.5-year high against the dollar—reflecting broad-based dollar weakness.
Gold’s long-term target remains unchanged.
Mainstream Wall Street institutions remain bullish:
JPMorgan: year-end target of $6,300
- Deutsche Bank: year-end target of $6,000
With gold currently trading near $5,000, upside potential exceeds 20%.
Underlying Market Logic: Is the AI Bubble Bursting?
Today’s market action reveals a core issue: the pace of AI commercialization is lagging far behind capital expenditure growth.
AMD’s problem isn’t insufficient revenue growth (a 26% YoY increase is already impressive)—it’s runaway costs. To stay competitive in the AI race, AMD is burning cash aggressively. But markets are now asking: Will these expenditures yield commensurate returns?
If even AMD—a core AI chip player—can’t rein in costs, how can downstream AI application firms, software companies, or infrastructure providers possibly turn a profit?
Key Events Remaining This Week
Thursday–Friday:
- Alphabet (Google) earnings
- Amazon earnings
- Initial jobless claims (Thursday)
- U.S.–Iran talks (Friday)
If Google or Amazon miss earnings expectations, tech stocks could face further collapse.
If U.S.–Iran talks collapse, escalating geopolitical risks would likely push gold higher.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
深潮TechFlow
