Artificial intelligence could have saved the day of semiconductor companies in the fourth quarter, said an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets on Monday.

Weak Industry Fundamentals:Broad-based demand trends remain weak, weighed down by continued inventory destocking in the auto and industry end markets, said John Vinh in a note. Despite the bottoming of the PC industry, demand trends remained weak, he added.

The analyst also noted weakness in the traditional server market and Chinese iPhone demand. On the flipside, Android smartphone demand sustained and AI server demand remained robust, he said.

"We see AI and Android handset-exposed...