Two Semiconductor Plays Worth Grabbing with Both Hands in 2026

The AI Infrastructure Boom Is Just Getting Started

The artificial intelligence revolution has fundamentally reshaped the semiconductor industry. Without cutting-edge processors and infrastructure components, AI development would simply hit a wall. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang estimates that data center operators worldwide will invest up to $4 trillion annually by 2030 to support AI expansion. While Nvidia’s data center GPUs dominate the market, this AI wave presents lucrative opportunities for other chip and component suppliers as well.

Two companies positioned to capture significant share of this infrastructure spending boom deserve investor attention in 2026: Corning and Micron Technology.

Corning: The Infrastructure Cable Play

Most people know Corning for supplying glass components to Apple iPhones since 2007. However, the real story this year has been elsewhere. The company’s stock has surged 83% year-to-date, driven by explosive demand for fiber optic cables.

Why Corning Matters for AI:

Data center operators are racing to upgrade their infrastructure, and they’re making a critical switch from copper to fiber optic cabling. Fiber optics transmit data at significantly higher speeds and over much longer distances compared to traditional copper lines—a must-have for AI infrastructure scaling.

Consider the complexity: A single Nvidia Blackwell NV-Link data center node contains 72 GPUs connected by approximately 2 miles of cabling. As operators expand nodes to hundreds of GPUs, the cabling requirements multiply substantially. Corning’s leadership believes this opportunity could double or triple in size over the long term.

The Numbers Tell the Story:

In Q3 2025 (ended September 30), Corning’s total revenue hit $4.27 billion, up 14% year-over-year. But the real action is in optical communications:

• Optical communications segment: $1.65 billion (up 33% YoY)
• Enterprise portion of optical communications: up 58% YoY driven by AI demand
• Q3 net income from optical communications: $295 million (up 69% YoY)

This segment now accounts for more than half of Corning’s total profits ($585 million in Q3), underscoring AI’s critical importance to the business.

Valuation Sweet Spot:

Trading at a P/E ratio of 35.9 based on adjusted trailing 12-month earnings of $2.38 per share, Corning appears considerably undervalued compared to semiconductor giants like Nvidia (P/E: 45.2) and Advanced Micro Devices (P/E: 57.9). This pricing could create meaningful upside potential heading into 2026.

Micron Technology: The Memory Chip Backbone

Micron stands as one of the world’s premier suppliers of memory and storage chips—components absolutely essential to AI performance. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) functions as the GPU’s ready-access data reservoir, dramatically accelerating processing speeds. Insufficient memory capacity creates processing bottlenecks; ample capacity unlocks the GPU’s full potential.

Micron’s Technical Advantage:

The company’s HBM3E solution delivers 50% more capacity than competitors while consuming 30% less energy. This combination translates directly to substantial cost savings for data center operators and AI developers. Both Nvidia (Blackwell Ultra GB300) and AMD (MI350 Series) have adopted Micron’s HBM3E in their latest GPU generations.

Looking ahead, Micron’s entire 2026 HBM3E supply is nearly pre-sold. The company is currently sampling its next-generation HBM4 solution, which boasts 60% additional capacity while improving energy efficiency another 20%.

Explosive Growth Trajectory:

During fiscal year 2025 (ended August 28), Micron’s total revenue skyrocketed 49% year-over-year to a record $37.3 billion. The standout performer was its Cloud Memory business unit:

• Cloud Memory revenue: $13.5 billion (up a staggering 257% YoY)

This segment accounts for Micron’s data center HBM sales, and the trajectory remains steep. The company will report fiscal 2026 first quarter results on December 17, with analysts expecting continued rapid expansion.

Superior Valuation:

With fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of $8.29 per share, Micron trades at just 27.3x earnings—making it cheaper than both Corning and substantially cheaper than Nvidia and AMD. Given that GPU demand continues outpacing supply, major chipmakers Nvidia and AMD should experience strong 2026 sales, creating a powerful tailwind for Micron’s business.

The Case for Action

The semiconductor sector stands at the epicenter of the AI transformation. Infrastructure plays like Corning and essential component suppliers like Micron position investors to benefit from the $4 trillion annual spending wave that AI demands. With both companies showing double-digit to triple-digit revenue growth rates in their AI-related segments and valuations that remain reasonable compared to pure chip designers, 2026 could present a compelling window for investors to grab these opportunities with both fists.