WSB Alert | SPDR S&P 500 ETF Tops WSB Discussions; Intel Surges with Amazon AI Chip Deal

A few years ago, a short squeeze battle between retail investors and Wall Street made the WSB forum explode in popularity overnight, increasing its user base significantly. Since then, it has been dubbed the "retail investor stronghold" of the US stock market. While the retail investors here appear crazy, they are not lacking in rationality, and the forum serves as a market trend indicator.

The WSB Hot Stocks section aims to delve into the stocks most loved by retail investors through key metrics such as stock mentions, likes, and hot discussion rankings, tracking their areas of interest to grasp the latest trends in the US stock market.

The latest WSB hot discussion rankings as of September 17 are as follows:

According to the rankings,

S&P 500 ETF-SPDR ranks 1st on the WSB hot discussion list, with an overnight increase of 0.15%, rising for six consecutive days with a cumulative 4.16% rise.

NVIDIA ranks 2nd on the WSB hot discussion list, with an overnight decrease of 1.95%, having declined for two consecutive days with a cumulative 1.98% drop.

Intel ranks 3rd on the WSB hot discussion list, with an overnight increase of 6.36%, rising for two consecutive days with a cumulative 8.01% rise.

Notably, in terms of ranking changes among the top 20 in the hot discussion list,

Permian Resources rose 93 places on the WSB hot discussion list, currently ranking 17th, with an overnight increase of 1.11%, rising for four consecutive days with a cumulative 5.74% rise.

Microsoft rose 60 places on the WSB hot discussion list, currently ranking 15th, with an overnight increase of 0.17%, rising for six consecutive days with a cumulative 7.38% rise.

Oracle rose 44 places on the WSB hot discussion list, currently ranking 6th, with an overnight increase of 5.12%, rising for five consecutive days with a cumulative 21.76% rise.

As for the top performers according to the table, S&P 500 ETF-SPDR ranks first with 299 mentions and 1124 likes. NVIDIA follows with 260 mentions and 1036 likes, and Intel is third with 243 mentions and 1947 likes. Apple is fourth, having increased 9 places and received 130 mentions and 867 likes.

WSB Hot Discussion Company News

Intel to Customize AI Chips for Amazon
Intel's CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has named Amazon's AWS as a client for the company's manufacturing business, potentially bringing business to its factories under construction in the US and helping reverse the struggling chip maker's fortunes. According to Monday's statement, Intel and AWS will jointly invest in a custom chip for AI computing over a "multi-year, multi-billion-dollar framework." This work will rely on Intel's 18A process, an advanced chip manufacturing technology. Intel's stock rose over 10% after-hours following the announcement. The news is part of a series of announcements made after a critical board meeting last week. Intel has also delayed new factories in Germany and Poland but remains committed to expansion in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Ohio in the US. The projects in Poland and Germany will be paused for about two years. Another project in Malaysia will be completed but will only be operational when conditions allow. Intel also aims to accelerate a $10 billion cost-saving plan and better focus its products on AI computing, an area where competitor NVIDIA excels. The company also plans to reduce its global real estate by about two-thirds by the end of the year.

Apple Intelligence Coming to Mac Models Next Month
On September 16, Apple's official website announced the release of the latest version of macOS Sequoia as a free software update for Mac, introducing the iPhone mirroring feature, allowing users to access and control their iPhones directly from their Macs. Additionally, Apple Intelligence will be available on Macs starting next month.

Microsoft Plans to Buy Back Up to $60 Billion in Stock and Increase Dividends
Microsoft announced a stock buyback plan of up to $60 billion and raised its quarterly dividend from 75 cents per share to 83 cents per share. The buyback plan has no expiration date, and the aggregated data indicates that this buyback plan accounts for 1.9% of the company's current market value.