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August 2025 has been one of the more eventful months in my trading journey. For the past few years, Nvidia (NVDA) had been at the center of my personal brokerage account and the backbone of my options trading strategy. Whether through covered calls, cash-secured puts, or short-term speculative trades, Nvidia’s volatility and dominance in the AI and GPU sector made it a reliable target for generating consistent income.
But times change. Earlier this summer, my position in Nvidia entirely got executed due to faults tariffs that could hurt the business. With no Nvidia stock in my account anymore, I had to make an adjustment: find new opportunities in other names that could provide similar—or even better—growth potential in the AI-driven economy.
This month, my trading activity centered around AMD, NVTS, APLD, and SOFI, with a few smaller one-off trades sprinkled in. Below is a detailed breakdown of my trades, results, and the thought process behind them.
Why AMD Over Nvidia?
When I looked at alternatives to Nvidia, AMD stood out immediately. It’s a company that has always been a direct competitor to Nvidia in GPUs, but in 2025, AMD’s positioning in AI hardware has grown significantly. Their expansion into AI accelerators and partnerships with cloud providers gave me confidence that the stock still has more runway for growth compared to Nvidia, which is already priced to near perfection.
Another factor is option premium pricing. Nvidia options, while lucrative, had become extremely expensive, requiring large amounts of collateral for puts and carrying substantial risk for calls. AMD, on the other hand, still has high liquidity in the options market and offers attractive premiums without the same outsized margin requirements. For someone who prefers steady income generation with controlled downside, AMD looked like the right stock to pivot to.
AMD Trades – $1,167 Gain
I executed three put options on AMD this month—two at the $160 strike and one at the $175 strike.
- $160 puts: These were conservative trades. I was comfortable owning AMD at that level given its long-term AI growth story. Both puts expired worthless, meaning I kept the full premium.
- $175 put: This one was a bit more aggressive, and as it turned out, it was assigned. I ended up purchasing shares at $175.
Instead of holding the shares, I immediately turned the position around by writing a covered call. This strategy helped reduce my cost basis while still generating income.
In total, my AMD options trading brought in $1,167 for August. More importantly, it solidified my conviction that AMD is not only a worthy replacement for Nvidia in my strategy but also potentially a stronger growth engine for the next few years.
NVTS Trades – $239 Gain
The next stock on my radar was Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS). At first glance, NVTS might seem like a small player compared to giants like AMD and Nvidia. However, their technology in gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) power solutions has huge implications for the AI sector.
Here’s the logic: as AI workloads grow, so does energy consumption. Every major data center is now struggling with power efficiency, and that’s where NVTS comes in. Their solutions allow companies like AMD, Nvidia, and cloud providers to reduce energy costs and manage higher performance at scale.
For August, I executed seven put options and one call option on NVTS. These were smaller positions compared to AMD, but I still managed to bring in $239 in total premiums. While not a massive number, the important part here is diversification. I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, and NVTS gives me a foothold in a niche but critical area of AI infrastructure.
APLD Trades – $681 Gain
Another AI-adjacent stock I focused on was Applied Digital (APLD). Their core business revolves around providing data center infrastructure, which again ties directly into the AI boom. As AI companies scale, they need more physical capacity to run their workloads, and APLD is positioning itself to capture this demand.
In August, I sold ten put options on APLD. The premiums were attractive, and I was comfortable with the strike prices since I believe the long-term trend for data centers remains strong. I was able to pocket $681 in total.
What excites me about APLD is that it plays the “pick and shovel” role in the AI gold rush. Rather than betting directly on a chipmaker, you’re investing in the infrastructure that supports all players in the ecosystem. That diversification reduces company-specific risk and spreads exposure across the industry.
SOFI Trades – $486 Gain
Outside of AI, I also made a move into the fintech space with SOFI. I’ve been following SoFi for years, and I’ve always been intrigued by their disruptive model in lending, banking, and personal finance. While it doesn’t directly connect to AI hardware, fintech companies like SOFI stand to benefit from AI-driven tools for risk management, customer service, and financial analysis.
This month, I started nine put options on SOFI. The premiums were healthy, and I viewed the stock as undervalued at current levels. My total income from SOFI options was $486 for August.
For me, trading SOFI isn’t just about the income—it’s also about rebuilding a position in a stock I want to own long-term. If one of these puts eventually gets assigned, I’d be happy to hold SOFI shares as part of my portfolio.
Smaller One-Off Trades – $103
In addition to the main four stocks, I also executed a handful of smaller, one-off put options on other companies. These weren’t significant enough to warrant detailed breakdowns, but they served two purposes:
- Testing the waters with new stocks to see if the option premiums and liquidity are worth building a larger position.
- Diversifying risk so that a poor move in one stock doesn’t derail the entire month.
While the income from these trades wasn’t substantial, they provided valuable insight and experience.
Key Takeaways from August 2025
Looking back at the month, several themes stand out in my trading journey:
- Pivoting Away from Nvidia Was the Right Call
Nvidia is still a great company, but for my personal strategy, it had become too expensive and less attractive for generating consistent option income. AMD has filled that gap effectively. - AI Infrastructure Is a Huge Opportunity
Stocks like NVTS and APLD remind me that the AI boom isn’t just about GPUs and chips. Energy efficiency and data center capacity are just as critical, and they provide excellent opportunities for option traders. - Diversification Works
Splitting my trades across AMD, NVTS, APLD, and SOFI allowed me to spread risk while still capturing meaningful premiums. - Income Generation Adds Up
- AMD: $1,167
- NVTS: $239
- APLD: $681
- SOFI: $486
- Other trades: small gains: $103
Looking Ahead to September
As I look ahead, I plan to continue focusing on the same core stocks. AMD will remain my anchor, given its AI potential and option liquidity. I also expect to keep trading NVTS and APLD, as the AI infrastructure theme is only gaining momentum. For SOFI, I’ll continue selling puts until I’m either assigned shares or the stock moves significantly higher.
At the same time, I’ll keep scouting for new opportunities. AI, fintech, and energy efficiency remain my top themes, but I’m open to branching into healthcare or cybersecurity if the right setups appear.
Ultimately, August was a month of transition for me—moving away from Nvidia and building a new foundation with AMD and other promising stocks. The results speak for themselves, and I feel confident heading into the fall.
