ii Tech Focus: Uber, Samsung, AMD, Alibaba
Despite the Iran war, US technology is a hot sector again. ii’s head of investment brings you the latest news, most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform and upcoming results.
8th May 2026 11:27
by Victoria Scholar from interactive investor
Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices. Photo: I-HWA CHENG/AFP via Getty Images.
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Uber
Shares in Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) rallied 8.5% on Wednesday thanks to strong guidance. The ride-hailing app forecast Q2 gross bookings of between $56.25 billion (£41.3 billion) and $57.75 billion for the June quarter, ahead of analysts’ expectations. Investors shrugged off its first-quarter top line miss with revenue rising 14% to $13.2 billion, just shy of analysts’ expectations.
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Its delivery business grew revenue by 34% to $5.07 billion in the quarter, beating estimates, with particular strength in the UK, Japan and Australia. The company said its Uber One subscription programme secured 50 million users for the first time in April. However its mobility revenue disappointed, hitting $6.8 billion, and missing estimates. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said there is a “complex macro backdrop” amid this year’s Middle East turmoil and volatile energy markets.
Shares in Uber are down around 3% so far in 2026 and have shed 8% over the past 12 months. According to Refinitiv, there is a consensus buy recommendation on the stock with an average target price of $103.45, up 30% from its current share price.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics’ market capitalisation surpassed $1 trillion this week, rallying by more than 15% on Wednesday. It previously broke into the trillion dollar club back in February before re-entering the territory this week. It is only the second Asian company to reach $1 trillion after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR (NYSE:TSM) first broke above the threshold in mid-2025.
Samsung Electronics delivered very strong results last week and has benefited from the recent surge in AI chip stocks, lifting the Kospi to a record high, surpassing 7,000 for the first time in history.
According to Refinitiv, there is a consensus buy recommendation on Samsung Electronics Co Ltd DR (LSE:SMSN) among analysts.
20 most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform
Source: interactive investor, May 2026.
AMD
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) is among the most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform so far this week. On Wednesday its shares hit a record high, rallying 18.6% after its first-quarter earnings blew past analysts’ expectations. The chipmaker and Nvidia rival reported first-quarter revenue of $10.25 billion, up 38% year-on-year, with data-centre sales up 57% to $5.8 billion.
CEO Lisa Su said “data centre is now the primary driver of our revenue and earnings growth”. In terms of its outlook, AMD also issued upbeat guidance, forecasting second-quarter revenue of $11.2 billion, ahead of expectations for $10.5 billion.
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AMD, which is the market leader in central processing units (CPUs) is benefiting from the rapid increase in demand for these integrated circuits used to power agentic AI. While Nvidia remains the dominant force in the AI chip market overall, AMD is becoming a much stronger rival. AMD now expects the CPU addressable market to grow by 35% annually, a sharp upgrade to its forecast in November for 18% growth.
AMD shares have performed very well over the last year and according to Reuters, this week at least 30 brokerages, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, increased their price targets on the stock after earnings.
Week Ahead
JD.com and Alibaba
JD.com Inc ADR (NASDAQ:JD) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ADR (NYSE:BABA) prepare to deliver their latest financial results next week on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. As major e-commerce players in China, these earnings should provide some insight into the strength of the Chinese consumer.
Alibaba has been spending to try and shift its focus beyond e-commerce, towards AI-related products and its cloud business. In March, shares fell after it reported disappointing net income and revenue for the December quarter. Cloud revenue of 43.3 billion Chinese yuan (£4.7 billion) was a bright spot with 36% growth year-on-year. The focus next week for investors will be on Alibaba’s cloud revenue, AI demand and AI spending.
JD.com, which remains much more of a retail-focused business, also reported disappointing results in March. The world’s second-largest retailer after Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported fourth-quarter revenue, which rose 1.5% to 352.3 billion yuan, below forecasts, pointing to weak discretionary spending among Chinese consumers amid China’s sluggish economic backdrop.
JD.com has been looking to expand beyond China into the global e-commerce market by launching a European online shopping platform Joybuy in March to compete with players such as Amazon, Temu and AliExpress. To expand in the UK, it has mulled the acquisition of Currys (LSE:CURY) and Argos in recent years.
Alibaba shares are down 13% so far this year, while JD.com is up 3%.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
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