Kioxia Holdings Corporation

China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) is targeting the top spot in NAND flash memory by the end of 2027, aiming to surpass Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as it prepares for a major Shanghai listing. The Wuhan-based company has shared this ambition with investors during pre-IPO meetings, according to a Financial Times report. YMTC filed to raise 33 billion yuan ($5 billion) in Shanghai, with most proceeds earmarked for production upgrades and R&D. Its first-quarter revenue was about 47 billion yuan ($7 billion), with net profit of 33 billion yuan, more than double its total profit for all of 2025. In the second quarter of 2026, YMTC entered the global top three NAND suppliers for the first time, capturing a 14% share of NAND bit shipments, behind Samsung at 25% and SK Hynix at 22%, narrowly overtaking Kioxia for third place. The company has not set a timeline for its debut but is expected to command a valuation exceeding 1 trillion yuan ($150 billion), potentially making it China's second-largest IPO this year.

Yangtze Memory Technologies filed for an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to raise $4.9 billion, in what would rank among China's largest semiconductor share sales in years. The Wuhan-based company, known as YMTC, said in its listing prospectus on Friday that it plans to issue between roughly 2.0 billion and 2.4 billion new shares, representing 10% to 12% of its post-offering share capital, with an overallotment option of up to 15%. The funds will be used to upgrade production lines and develop next-generation storage products, and the company expects to list in 2027. YMTC's parent company, CCSH Corporation, plans to list on Shanghai's STAR Market. The IPO comes as explosive demand from artificial intelligence has driven a surge in NAND flash chip prices, allowing YMTC's factories to run near full capacity. The company posted first-quarter revenue of 47.04 billion yuan, or $7.0 billion, a figure that surpassed what it had earned across all of 2024, while quarterly net profit reached 33.38 billion yuan, more than twice what the company earned across all of 2025. Counterpoint Research placed YMTC third in global NAND shipments, ahead of Kioxia by volume, even as it continues to lag behind both Kioxia and Micron Technology when measured by revenue. YMTC remains subject to U.S. restrictions limiting its access to certain American technologies, a factor analysts said could weigh on its longer-term growth.

China's Yangtze Memory Technologies overtook Micron Technology and Kioxia in global NAND shipments during the second quarter of 2026, capturing 14% of the market versus 13% for each rival, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung remained the leader with 25% and SK Hynix held 22%, while YMTC's shipments rose 22% year over year and 5% sequentially as shortages helped it expand sales to domestic OEMs. Despite the shipment-share loss, Micron ranked ahead of YMTC by NAND revenue, generating a record $9.9 billion in fiscal Q3 with data-center SSD revenue exceeding $5 billion and more than doubling from the prior quarter. Micron expects industry NAND bit shipments to rise roughly 20% in 2026 while its own supply growth trails the industry, and it sees tight supply-demand conditions persisting beyond 2027.

Yangtze Memory Technologies, also known as YMTC, ranked third globally in NAND memory chip shipments in the second quarter, surpassing U.S. rival Micron and Japan's Kioxia, according to Counterpoint Research. The Chinese firm captured a 14% share, behind South Korea's Samsung and SK hynix, and is projected to pull further ahead in 2027 and 2028. Counterpoint Research Director MS Hwang said a 15% market share is the minimum needed for a memory manufacturer to fund its own capital expenditures. YMTC is preparing to go public in mainland China, following the blockbuster debut of DRAM-focused Chinese memory chip company CXMT last month. Despite the shipment gains, YMTC still lagged behind Micron and Kioxia in NAND chip revenue, as it sells more to consumer applications rather than data centers.

Toshiba sold part of its Kioxia Holdings shares on the market, reducing its holding ratio to 14.06%, according to a change report filed on August 10. The reporting obligation arose on August 3, compared with 15.10% at the time of the previous report on July 15.

Citi lowered its price target on Micron Technology to $1,150 from $1,400 while maintaining a Buy rating, citing expectations that DRAM and NAND pricing could begin slowing over the next several quarters and likely peak in the second quarter of next year. Micron shares fell about 1% and SanDisk declined more than 2% on Friday as investors pulled back from memory-chip stocks following a weaker outlook from SanDisk and Citi's cautious industry forecast. The brokerage also flagged expanding Chinese memory production as a longer-term risk, noting that increased exports to Europe and other regions could weigh on global pricing despite U.S. export controls limiting shipments to the domestic market. Selling pressure extended to Asian chipmakers, with SK Hynix falling more than 4% and Samsung and Kioxia also trading lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 54,349.12, up 263.24 points or 0.49%, hitting a new record high, supported by progress in talks between Iran and Oman to establish a safe commercial shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. The Nasdaq closed at 26,363.44, down 221.55 points or 0.83%, pressured by a 13.6% plunge in SpaceX shares after its second-quarter 2026 earnings release. Despite strong profit and revenue from its Starlink and AI businesses, investors were concerned about AI investment burdens and selling pressure following the end of the post-IPO lock-up period that began today. European markets overall hit an all-time high, with Glencore shares surging 4.1% after reporting first-half profit growth of 86%, beating expectations. Meanwhile, Asian markets mostly fell this morning in line with US tech stocks, with Kioxia tumbling 9%, SK Hynix plunging 6.67%, and the KOSPI index dropping 1.84%, the steepest decline in the region. The Thai stock market is expected to move sideways to sideways down, with second-quarter 2026 earnings remaining the key factor, and TRUE shares worth watching after Ziggo confirmed that China Mobile remains a strategic shareholder and continues to advance AI collaboration.

Tokyo and Asian stock markets fell this morning, with South Korean chipmaker shares plunging more than 8%, even as oil prices declined after Trump revealed the start of US-Iran talks. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1,121.51 points, or 1.74%, to 63,240.51, after tumbling over 791 points at the open on heavy selling of large-cap tech stocks. Meanwhile, South Korea's KOSPI index slumped 4.27%, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both diving over 8%, dragging down Japanese semiconductor names such as Renesas Electronics and Kioxia Holdings. Markets are also watching for joint yen intervention by Japan and the US, after the first such move in 15 years on Friday, which pushed the yen to strengthen further to 155.23 per dollar today.

In the South Korean stock market, a sharp drop in margin trading, CFDs, and ETFs by retail investors triggered massive margin calls and forced loss cuts, with overheated investment in two semiconductor stocks amplifying volatility across the entire market. Following this plunge in the South Korean market, Kioxia Holdings also tumbled in Japan, and the Nikkei 225 moved weakly. At Berkshire Hathaway's 2026 annual shareholder meeting, Buffett warned, "I have never seen people feeling so speculative," pointing to a trend where speculation is favored over long-term investment. During the historic South Sea Bubble, Isaac Newton reportedly lost about 20 million dollars in today's value and said, "I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people." The article argues that mean reversion following state-capitalist-style managed markets leads to catastrophic losses for investors who underestimate risk, and recommends diversifying into highly liquid assets and increasing cash allocations in 2026.

Kioxia Holdings shares extended their decline, closing at 38,380 yen on July 29. The stock briefly topped the 110,000 yen level in June on expectations for generative AI memory demand, but has since plunged to roughly one-third of that peak, dragged down by a US-led semiconductor sell-off and a subsidiary litigation ruling in July. The company is scheduled to report its first-quarter results tomorrow, July 31, with the latest earnings trends in focus.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, with AI valuation concerns and fresh U.S.-Iran tensions keeping investors on edge. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.40 percent to 3,828.47 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.96 percent to 25,807.92, led by internet platform gains. Japanese markets fell sharply, with the Nikkei average down 1.49 percent to 61,434.19 and SoftBank losing nearly 7 percent, while Kioxia Holdings plummeted 13.9 percent. Seoul's Kospi slumped 5.98 percent to 5,663.24, with SK Hynix tumbling 9.6 percent despite a six-fold quarterly earnings increase. Australian markets rallied after headline inflation cooled to 3.8 percent, sending the S&P/ASX 200 up 1.01 percent to 9,038.60, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX-50 hit a record high of 13,976.67 on U.S.-Iran peace talk optimism.

Most Asia-Pacific markets fell today, with semiconductor stocks swinging wildly and tumbling sharply after US markets closed lower overnight amid concerns over stock valuations, fierce competition, and AI spending. South Korea's SK Hynix dropped more than 10%, even as quarterly profit surged 557% but missed analyst expectations, while Samsung Electronics fell over 4%, and LG Innotek and Seoul Semiconductor sank 9% and more than 6% respectively. Japanese chip names also declined, with Kioxia plunging 10%, Tokyo Electron down 8.5%, and SoftBank Group losing over 7%. China's ChiNext 300 index shed 1.83% and the Hang Seng China Semiconductor Chips Index slumped more than 5%, while Taiwan's TSMC eased 1.32%. Crude oil prices jumped nearly 4% after Middle East attacks shattered a brief calm amid US-Iran tensions, with WTI rising 3.09 dollars to 82.35 dollars a barrel and Brent adding 3.3 dollars to 87.39 dollars a barrel.

Asian technology stocks faced continued selling pressure in Wednesday trading, with semiconductor shares leading the market lower. Investors remain concerned about elevated valuations, intensifying competition in artificial intelligence, and the drag from a weaker US stock market overnight. In South Korea, SK Hynix, the world's major memory chip maker, tumbled more than 10% even after reporting record quarterly profit and revenue. The figures fell short of analyst expectations, triggering heavy selling. The pressure spread to other domestic tech names, with Samsung Electronics down over 4%, LG Innotek plunging more than 9%, and Seoul Semiconductor losing over 6%. In Japan, Kioxia dropped as much as 10%, Tokyo Electron fell 8.5%, and SoftBank Group declined more than 7%. In Taiwan, TSMC slipped 1.32%. In China, the ChiNext 300 Index lost 1.83% and the Hang Seng China Semiconductor Chips Index sank more than 5%, underscoring the broad regional sell-off. Bucking the trend, Chinese internet stocks listed in Hong Kong moved higher, with Tencent up 3.6% and Meituan gaining 2.7%, while Alibaba, Baidu, and Kuaishou also traded in positive territory.

SK hynix reported a 1,242 percent year-on-year surge in second-quarter net profit to 94 trillion won, driven by explosive demand for its high-bandwidth memory chips used in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Operating profit jumped 557 percent to 60 trillion won, while revenue reached 79 trillion won, with the net profit figure boosted by a one-off 20 trillion won gain from the sale of its stake in flash memory maker Kioxia. The company described the results as an all-time high quarterly performance and plans to invest around 40 trillion won this year, citing continued momentum in memory demand as major tech companies expand AI infrastructure investments. Despite the strong earnings, SK hynix shares have fallen 33 percent over the past month amid broader concerns about AI industry sustainability and geopolitical tensions.

Memory and storage stocks are plunging in Tuesday premarket trading, with Micron Technology down 6.7%, Seagate Technology down 7.2%, Western Digital down 7.6%, and SanDisk down 7.3% as of 7:15 a.m. ET. The selloff follows overnight losses in Asia where Samsung fell 13%, SK Hynix fell 15%, and Kioxia fell 18%, driven by three overlapping catalysts. Reports that China is developing deep ultraviolet lithography machines that could ship this year have revived fears of a global capacity flood threatening the memory pricing cycle. Additionally, NVIDIA's reported preparation of up to $750 billion in partnerships and financing tied to OpenAI and SK Hynix is stoking circular financing anxieties within the AI complex. A leveraged unwind in Korea's memory-dominated market is also pressuring memory and memory-adjacent stocks worldwide, with SanDisk already down 39% over the past month despite strong fundamentals such as Micron's Q4 revenue guide of $50.0 billion and Nomura's forecast of $2 trillion in DRAM sales by 2030.

Shares of memory and AI-related stocks fell in premarket trading on Tuesday after Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped about 3.95% and South Korea's Kospi Index sank 10.84%. Memory maker Kioxia plummeted around 18.3%, Tokyo Electron tumbled about 11%, and Advantest slumped nearly 10% in Japan, while SK hynix fell about 15% and Samsung Electronics slumped nearly 13% in South Korea. Analysts cited concerns over AI infrastructure financing, China's technological advances, and growing competition, with Kiwoom Securities' Han Ji-young noting that reports of a Chinese company developing domestic DUV lithography systems reignited fears of accelerated capacity expansion by Chinese memory-chip makers. CXMT's strong stock-market debut on Monday added to oversupply worries, though Mercer Investments' Cameron Systermans said CXMT is likely years behind South Korean competitors in High-Bandwidth Memory. In the US, Micron Technology fell around 5%, Nvidia dipped about 1% after a report on its $19.6 billion lease commitment for a Texas data center, and chip equipment makers ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA all declined.

U.S. chip stocks extended losses in premarket trading Tuesday, building on Monday's declines after a broad selloff swept through Asian semiconductor names overnight. Memory chip stocks Micron, SanDisk, and Western Digital fell about 4% each, while Intel shed 3.2%, Marvell Technology and Applied Materials lost about 2.8% each, AMD dipped more than 3%, and Super Micro Computer slipped 2.9%. The rout began Monday when Nvidia shares fell 5% in New York, stripping the AI chip giant of its title as the world's most valuable listed company after The Wall Street Journal reported the company is in talks to provide around $250 billion toward a massive data-center project tied to OpenAI. The weakness carried into Asian trading Tuesday, with South Korea's Kospi tumbling roughly 11% and triggering its eighth circuit breaker of the year, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 4% and memory-chip maker Kioxia sank 18%. Analysts attributed the pullback to worries over how AI infrastructure is being financed, China's advancing chip capabilities, and intensifying competition from Chinese semiconductor firms, highlighted by Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT surging 466% on its Shanghai debut on July 27 in Asia's largest IPO of 2026, raising $8.6 billion and pushing its market value to 3.3 trillion yuan, or about $487.73 billion, nearly half the valuation of U.S. rival Micron.

Chip stocks tanked across Asia on Tuesday, rattled by the threat of Chinese competition and worries about who is paying for the AI boom, while sliding oil prices did little to allay nerves about U.S. rate hikes potentially starting as soon as this week. South Korea's KOSPI dived almost 10% to a three-month low, triggering a circuit breaker and heading for its largest monthly fall since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics each losing more than 12%. Japan's Nikkei slid about 4% to a two-year low, following a 2.2% drop for the Philadelphia Semiconductor index on Monday, as market darlings Kioxia fell 18% and Tokyo Electron dropped 11%. The selloff was fueled by a report that China has begun manufacturing domestically developed immersion deep ultraviolet lithography machines, sending ASML shares down 8.5%, and by CXMT Corp's $8.6 billion listing that made it China's most valuable company, raising fears of accelerated capacity expansion to rival Korean firms. Nvidia shares shed 5% overnight after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is in talks to provide roughly $250 billion in financing guarantees for OpenAI as part of a massive data centre project. Brent crude futures extended Monday's nearly 9% plunge, falling more than 1% to $87.19 a barrel, as a lull in U.S.-Iran hostilities followed Washington's suspension of air strikes, while markets priced a 38% chance that the Federal Reserve hikes by 25 basis points on Wednesday.

Tokyo stocks plunged more than 4% in morning trade today, with the Nikkei 225 falling 2,701.42 points, or 4.16%, to 62,229.77, and the Topix index dropping 2.92% to 3,947.25. Semiconductor shares led the decline, tracking losses in their US peers amid uncertainty over the return on investment in artificial intelligence. Tokyo Electron slumped over 10%, while Advantest fell 10.25% and SoftBank Group lost 6%. Kioxia tumbled more than 17%. Across the Asia-Pacific region, markets were broadly lower. South Korea's Kospi index plunged as much as 8% after SK Hynix dived 11% and Samsung Electronics dropped 9.5%, prompting the Korea Exchange to trigger a 20-minute temporary trading halt. Taiwan's TAIEX fell 3.79%, with TSMC down over 2%. China's SSE Composite Index slipped 0.93%, bucking the trend of Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which rose 0.59%.

The Nikkei 225 index fell more than 2% in Friday trading, after Alphabet, the parent company of Google, tumbled sharply on its announcement of increased artificial intelligence investment and negative free cash flow, sparking investor concerns worldwide about the payoff of AI spending. As of Friday morning local time, the Nikkei 225 had dropped 2.69% to 64,634.04 points, while the TOPIX index declined 1.28% to 4,002.09 points. Since the start of the month, the Nikkei has fallen over 7% and entered correction territory, influenced by weakness in global technology stocks, particularly South Korea's KOSPI and the US Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Semiconductor shares faced heavy selling, with Advantest plunging 6.33% and Tokyo Electron falling 5.43%, while SoftBank Group tumbled 7.42% and Kioxia dropped 4.4%. However, stocks tied to domestic demand bucked the trend, with Central Japan Railway rising 1.17% and East Japan Railway gaining 0.6%, while Otsuka Holdings climbed 1.6%, becoming the top gainer on the Nikkei during morning trading.

In the Tokyo stock market morning session, the Nikkei average plunged sharply, ending at 64,568.75 yen, down 2.79% from the previous business day. In addition to the previous day's decline in U.S. stocks, uncertainty over the Middle East situation and new tariffs set to be imposed by the Trump administration on the 24th weighed on sentiment, with the index briefly falling 3.14% to 64,334.29 yen. U.S. WTI crude oil futures traded in the 91-dollar range, and amid a global risk-off mood, the TOPIX ended the morning session down 1.01% at 4,012.79 points, while trading value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market reached 4.336145 trillion yen. Among major stocks, SoftBank Group fell over 7% and Kioxia Holdings dropped over 9%, while Chugai Pharmaceutical rose over 3%. On the individual front, Disco, which announced earnings the previous day, topped the decliners list with a drop of over 14%, while KOA, which announced upward revisions and a dividend increase, surged over 10% to rank second on the gainers list.