In the span of 24 hours at the end of April 2026, ON Semiconductor locked in expanded silicon carbide chip deals with two of China’s largest electric vehicle makers, NIO and Geely, and the stock market responded with force. Shares of onsemi, as the company is known on Wall Street, finished the month roughly 51% above where they started it, according to publicly available trading data, one of the sharpest single-month rallies in the semiconductor sector this year. (Readers can verify the approximate gain by comparing onsemi’s opening price near $33 on April 1 with its closing price near $50 on April 30 on any major financial data provider such as Yahoo Finance or Bloomberg.)
The back-to-back announcements put onsemi at the center of a technology shift that is redefining how electric vehicles handle power. But the size of the rally also raises a pointed question: how much of the gain is grounded in confirmed orders, and how much reflects broader market enthusiasm about the company’s strategic direction?
Two deals, two days, one technology
On April 27, onsemi disclosed an expanded collaboration with NIO focused on next-generation 900-volt EV platforms. The following day, the company announced a separate strategic agreement with Geely, the Chinese automaker behind Volvo Cars and the Zeekr EV brand, covering silicon carbide solutions across Geely’s vehicle lineup.
Both deals revolve around silicon carbide (SiC) power chips, a class of semiconductor that handles high voltages and extreme heat far more efficiently than traditional silicon. Inside an EV, SiC chips sit in the inverter and onboard charger, converting power between the battery pack and the electric motors or the charging grid. Less energy lost as heat means longer driving range, smaller cooling systems, and lighter vehicles overall.
The NIO deal is especially notable because it targets 900V architecture. Most EVs on the road today, including high-profile models like the Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Ioniq 5, run on 800V systems. A jump to 900V allows thinner cabling, lighter battery packs, and charging speeds that can restore hundreds of miles of range in minutes. For NIO, choosing onsemi’s SiC devices for that platform is a bet that the chipmaker can deliver at the scale and reliability a flagship EV line demands.
Why the market reacted so sharply
The concentrated timing of the announcements gave traders a rare double catalyst. Each press release named a specific automaker, identified silicon carbide as the core technology, and pointed to a clear product roadmap. That level of specificity is unusual in partnership disclosures, which often lean on vague language about “exploring opportunities.” Wall Street responded to concrete signals rather than aspirational statements.
China’s status as the world’s largest auto market amplified the reaction. NIO and Geely are not niche players; they are globally recognized brands with aggressive EV expansion plans. Securing design wins with both companies positions onsemi to capture recurring chip revenue across multiple vehicle models and production years, assuming those programs reach full-scale manufacturing.
The rally also unfolded against a backdrop of rising investor enthusiasm for the broader SiC supply chain. Onsemi competes with Wolfspeed, STMicroelectronics, and Infineon Technologies for high-voltage EV chip contracts, and the race to lock in automaker partnerships has intensified as 800V and 900V platforms move from engineering labs to production lines. Onsemi’s April wins suggest it is holding its ground, or gaining it, in that contest.
The AI angle: plausible but unconfirmed
Part of the market narrative around onsemi’s April surge ties silicon carbide to artificial intelligence infrastructure. The logic is straightforward: AI training clusters consume enormous amounts of electricity, and efficient power conversion inside data centers reduces both energy costs and cooling demands. SiC chips, which already excel at high-voltage power management in EVs, could theoretically serve a similar function in server power delivery.
Onsemi has previously flagged opportunities in high-performance computing power systems in its investor materials. Some sell-side analysts have drawn a direct line between the company’s EV chip portfolio and the growing energy appetite of AI data centers.
But the two April press releases are explicitly about electric vehicles. Neither mentions AI, data centers, or computing infrastructure. No official onsemi statement in the available reporting connects the April stock movement to AI-specific orders. Until the company or a customer publicly links SiC shipments to AI deployments, the data center thesis remains a forward-looking possibility, not a confirmed revenue driver.
What the deals do not tell us
Neither the NIO nor the Geely announcement includes disclosed financial terms. The press releases contain no dollar values, no projected chip volumes, and no guaranteed revenue minimums. Strategic collaboration agreements often precede actual production shipments by a year or more, as automakers move through engineering samples, pilot runs, and vehicle launch timelines before placing volume orders.
That gap matters when evaluating a 51% monthly stock move. Investors who bought onsemi shares in late April were pricing in future revenue that has not yet appeared on an income statement. If either automaker delays a model launch, scales back production, or qualifies an alternative supplier, the revenue impact could fall short of current expectations.
Geopolitical risk adds another variable. Both NIO and Geely are Chinese companies, and U.S.-China tensions have repeatedly disrupted semiconductor supply chains through export controls, tariffs, and licensing requirements. Onsemi’s deepening commercial ties with Chinese automakers could expose the company to regulatory friction from either government. The April press releases do not address how onsemi plans to navigate that landscape, and no available reporting details contingency plans or customer diversification strategies specific to these partnerships.
What onsemi’s order books need to prove through mid-2026
The strongest takeaway from April is strategic, not financial. Onsemi has secured roles in advanced 900V vehicle platforms with two globally recognized automakers, reinforcing its position in a technology that much of the auto industry views as essential for the next generation of EVs. Those are meaningful wins for a power semiconductor company competing in a crowded and fast-moving field.
But the stock’s rally has priced in expectations that the company’s financial results have not yet validated. The key milestones to watch in the coming quarters include onsemi’s earnings reports, where management commentary on SiC order backlog and revenue ramp timelines will either confirm or temper the optimism baked into the share price. Progress on manufacturing capacity, particularly at onsemi’s expanded SiC fabrication facilities, will signal whether the company can fulfill large-volume commitments if automaker demand accelerates on schedule.
Any official disclosure linking SiC products to AI data center customers would materially change the growth narrative, transforming a speculative thesis into a confirmed revenue stream. Until that happens, the AI component of the investment case remains a watch item, not a settled fact.
For now, onsemi’s April performance reflects a company that is winning the right partnerships at the right moment in the EV power transition. Whether the stock can hold those gains depends on what shows up in the order books over the months ahead.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
