NEW YORK, June 15 (Our New York News) — BlackRock’s iShares Semiconductor ETF has risen 89% year to date in 2026, Fox Business reported June 9, as investors continue to push money into chip stocks tied to artificial intelligence and data-center spending.
The move has made semiconductors one of the strongest areas of the exchange-traded fund market this year. The rally has benefited investors with exposure to chipmakers, while also increasing their dependence on a small group of companies tied to AI hardware demand.
The iShares Semiconductor ETF, ticker SOXX, is sponsored by BlackRock’s iShares business. BlackRock’s product page identifies the fund as the iShares Semiconductor ETF and says it tracks the NYSE Semiconductor Index.
The fund gives investors exposure to companies that design, make or supply chips used in computers, servers, networking equipment and other electronics. Those chips are a key part of the physical infrastructure behind AI systems and large data centers.
The 2026 gain reported by Fox Business follows a sharp rise in chip-related investments as large technology companies and cloud providers spend heavily on AI infrastructure. That spending has increased demand for advanced processors, memory chips and networking components.
Yahoo Finance reported in May that the fund’s five largest holdings accounted for about 40% of its value. It listed Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Nvidia and Intel as the largest holdings at that time.
That concentration has helped the fund during the chip rally, but it also means investors are more exposed to swings in a limited number of companies. If demand slows or a major chip stock falls, the ETF can move quickly in the other direction.
The broader semiconductor market has also expanded sharply. Fox Business and other financial publications reported that semiconductor revenue reached $298.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 25% from the fourth quarter of 2025. The underlying industry dataset was not identified in the supplied materials.
IDC’s April forecast predicted that the semiconductor market would exceed $1 trillion in revenue by the end of 2026, according to reports citing the research firm. The forecast reflects expectations that AI-related computing, data centers and other digital infrastructure will keep driving demand.
The rally has reached beyond SOXX. Benzinga reported in mid-April that the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF was up 20% over the prior month and 25% year to date, citing market performance during the AI-driven chip advance.
For investors in New York and across U.S. markets, the semiconductor ETF surge shows how AI spending is reshaping public-market returns. The gains have flowed through funds, retirement accounts and brokerage portfolios that hold chip-focused ETFs.
The business impact also reaches chipmakers and their workers. Stronger demand can support revenue growth, factory utilization and investment across the semiconductor supply chain. At the same time, the industry is cyclical, and chip stocks have a history of sharp moves when demand expectations change.
BlackRock’s fund structure means SOXX is not a bet on one company alone. It is designed to follow an index of semiconductor stocks. Still, because the sector itself is narrow, the fund remains tied closely to the chip cycle.
The ETF’s performance has been driven by expectations that AI will require more computing power, more memory and more networking equipment. Data centers need large amounts of specialized hardware to train and run AI models, and that has made chip companies central to the investment case.
Reports on the rally have described the iShares Semiconductor ETF as a passive fund with a concentrated group of holdings. Intellectia reported that the ETF carries an expense ratio of 0.34%, a figure likely drawn from fund materials, though the supplied BlackRock snippet did not show the full fee table.
The timing of the fund’s reported gains shows how quickly the trade has moved. A late-April report said SOXX had risen more than 45% for the year at that point. By June 9, Fox Business and other reports said the gain had reached 89% year to date.
No merger, acquisition or completed corporate transaction was identified in the supplied materials. The development is a market-performance story centered on ETF returns, semiconductor demand and investor exposure to AI infrastructure.
BlackRock’s product page identifies SOXX as a fund that tracks the NYSE Semiconductor Index, placing the ETF’s performance in direct relation to the public-market movement of semiconductor companies.
