Arm shares rose more than 1% in premarket trading on Wednesday (February 18) following the disclosure that Nvidia has sold its entire stake in the British semiconductor firm, signaling investor confidence in Arm’s ability to grow independently.
The move marks a dramatic reversal for Nvidia, which attempted a $40 billion acquisition of Arm in 2021—the largest semiconductor deal in history—which ultimately collapsed. Analysts suggest Nvidia’s exit removes uncertainty around Arm’s strategic direction while freeing the graphics chip giant to redeploy capital into AI-focused initiatives.
Financial details of the sale
At the end of Q3 2025, Nvidia held 1.1 million shares of Arm valued at $155.8 million. SEC filings confirm that the company has sold all of these shares. Arm remains majority-owned by Japan’s SoftBank.
Nvidia’s strategic outlook
While Nvidia has not disclosed the use of proceeds from the sale, the company has been actively investing in AI startups, building out data centers, and exploring acquisitions in the networking space. Analysts expect the freed capital could support these initiatives without diluting shareholders or taking on debt.
AI partnerships boost Nvidia stock
Nvidia’s stock climbed 2.3% after Meta Platforms announced a long-term deal to use millions of Nvidia chips and other equipment for its AI data centers. CEO Jensen Huang highlighted Nvidia’s dominant position in AI computing, stating, “No one deploys AI at Meta’s scale.”
Wall Street rises on tech gains
Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, lifted by strong performances in technology stocks, including Nvidia, Amazon, and other AI-related heavyweights, following earlier concerns about high valuations and revenue growth timelines.
-S&P 500 climbed 0.56% to 6,881.31 points.
-Nasdaq Composite gained 0.78% to 22,753.64 points, after briefly rising as much as 1.4%.
-Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26% to 49,662.66 points.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nvidia led the gains, rising 1.6% after announcing a multi-year deal with Meta Platforms to supply millions of AI chips. Meta shares added 0.6%.
Other tech-related stocks benefiting from AI demand included Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate Technology, which climbed between 1.7% and 4.4%. Amazon gained 1.8%, while Microsoft rose 0.7%.
