Stocks Fall as Reports on OpenAI Sink Chipmakers: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — A selloff in chipmakers sent stocks down as a news report on OpenAI’s revenue intensified worries that the artificial-intelligence spending spree is becoming harder to justify.

Tech shares led losses in the S&P 500 on reports that revenue at the ChatGPT developer will be lower than some recently reported estimates for the firm. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.5%. A gauge of chip giants sank 3.7%. Oil pared its gain as President Donald Trump said the US won’t attack Iran before the midterm elections. Treasuries rose on a solid sale of 30-year bonds.

OpenAI is on track to generate annualized revenue of roughly $50 billion based on its current performance, according to people familiar with the matter. Some outlets reported last month it was already on track to generate nearly $70 billion. The Financial Times earlier reported the new financial estimate.

Investors are questioning how long AI spending can last, especially as companies’ investment plans come under pressure because of rising borrowing costs.

“In other words, investors are becoming a bit skeptical about how long this huge AI spending can last with borrowing costs rising in a significant way,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak.

“We retain strong conviction in the AI growth story, and believe AI-related investment remains a powerful tailwind for the broader equity market,” Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Chief Investment Office said in a recent note. “But the increasing concentration of market gains reinforces the importance of managing risk through a broadly diversified equity portfolio.”

This is particularly relevant to AI, where it is not yet clear how value creation will ultimately be distributed among chip designers, cloud providers, model developers, and application companies, she added.

“Ongoing questions over returns on investment, AI safety, financing, and execution could also contribute to periods of volatility, especially while elevated yields increase the cost of capital,” Hoffmann-Burchardi noted. “Diversification can help investors retain exposure to the structural opportunity without relying excessively on a narrow group of market leaders.”

Traders also kept an eye on the latest remarks from central bank officials.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said rate hikes will likely be needed, though officials have some flexibility on timing and don’t need to tighten at consecutive policy meetings. Fed Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem signaled rates should increase over the next six-to-nine months, but stopped short of endorsing a move at this month’s meeting.

Corporate Highlights:

The Trump administration said it would suspend an immigration program for multiple tech firms, including Microsoft Corp., alleging widespread abuse of a worker visa system. Oracle Corp. is using a novel power strategy to keep several data centers on track: trucking natural gas directly to the server farms. Broadcom Inc. has held early discussions to arrange financing to help OpenAI purchase the custom AI chips the pair is developing together, according to people familiar with the matter. Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced a Gemini agent for the workplace, ramping up competition with OpenAI, Anthropic PBC and Microsoft Corp. for corporate customers. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. jumped after the Financial Times reported that Starbucks Corp. has worked with advisers in recent months on a takeover proposal for the burrito chain. What Bloomberg Strategists say…

“Contrary to popular belief that stocks have shrugged off higher rates, plenty of damage has already been done. Nowhere is the strain more visible than in small caps.”

—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 fell 0.6% as of 3:03 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.5% The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The MSCI World Index fell 0.6% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1209 The British pound was little changed at $1.3225 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 157.86 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 2.2% to $81,532.63 Ether fell 4.8% to $2,450.49 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 5.23% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.49% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 5.48% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.5% to $91.38 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,127.23 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.