We like to think the heart of AI is the GPU, a processor of extreme speed. But here's something the industry knows well — the GPU got so good that memory can't keep up. Chips got 80× faster at computing over 10 years, but the speed of feeding them data grew only 17×. The result: a processing core worth hundreds of thousands of dollars often sits "idle," waiting for data. This is the memory wall, and the hero that tears it down is HBM — high-speed memory that stacks DRAM into a tower and slaps it right next to the GPU. This lesson looks at why this part is "sold out years in advance," and why the whole world depends on just three makers.
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UBS Lifts AI Capex Forecast to Nearly $1 Trillion This Year
UBS now expects artificial intelligence capital expenditure to reach nearly $1 trillion in 2026 before climbing to around $1.4 trillion in 2027, with surging memory costs accounting for most of the increase. The bank's updated estimates put total AI capex at $998 billion this year, almost double the $506 billion recorded in 2025, and forecast spending of $1.447 trillion next year. Memory is emerging as the main source of that growth, with UBS estimating memory spending will climb from $71 billion in 2025 to $367 billion this year and $923 billion in 2027, while other AI-related costs are estimated at $631 billion in 2026 before declining to $525 billion next year. That means higher memory costs will account for about 60% of the increase in AI capex this year and more than the entire net increase in 2027, and across the two years UBS calculates that roughly 90% of the nearly $1 trillion increase in AI capital expenditure between 2025 and 2027 will come from higher memory spending. Memory represented about 14% of total AI capex in 2025, a share the bank estimates will rise to 37% this year and reach 64% in 2027, and UBS said price-driven increases would add relatively little to real U.S. gross domestic product, instead representing a transfer of income and profits toward memory producers in Asia.
Micron and Intel CEOs Warn Memory Chip Shortages Could Last Through 2027
Micron Technology and Intel CEOs cautioned that memory chip shortages and higher prices could persist through 2027, with Micron's leadership indicating on a recent call that supply constraints may only start to ease meaningfully from 2028 onward. Intel's CEO echoed the outlook for extended tightness in DRAM and NAND availability, pointing to heavy AI and data center demand. Micron Technology designs and produces memory and storage hardware used in everything from smartphones and PCs to data centers, so long running tightness in DRAM and NAND supply directly touches the products it sells into these markets. As one of the larger US based chip manufacturers by scale, with a reported market value of about $1.1 trillion, its comments on supply conditions can influence how investors think about capacity planning across the wider semiconductor sector. The clearest test of this read will be how Micron's long term customer agreements and utilization plans look through 2027, especially whether the company keeps reporting high take or pay coverage across its AI oriented memory output as new fabs and its 512GB DDR5 modules move toward volume production in the second half of 2027.
S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase by +24% from the same period last year in the third quarter, the 8th straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth for the index, according to Zacks Investment Research. Earnings are expected to be above the year-earlier level for 14 of the 16 Zacks sectors, with 5 sectors expected to enjoy double-digit growth: Aerospace up +159.3%, Energy up +111.9%, Tech up +41.9%, Basic Materials up +31.2%, and Transportation up +15.1%. The Conglomerates sector is the only one expected to have lower earnings in Q3 relative to the same period last year, down 35.4%, while Consumer Staples earnings are expected to be flat. Excluding the Energy sector, Q3 earnings growth for the S&P 500 drops to +20% from +24%, and excluding the Tech sector, growth for the rest of the index drops to +14.4%. Nvidia's Q3 earnings are expected to increase +90% year-over-year on +91.2% higher revenues, while Micron's year-over-year earnings and revenue growth rates are expected to be +938% and +348.6%, respectively, and Tech sector earnings growth gets cut by slightly more than half once contributions from Nvidia and Micron are excluded. The Q3 earnings season will get the spotlight when the big banks report on October 13th, but the reporting cycle actually got underway with the September 10th quarterly releases from Oracle and Adobe, followed by homebuilder Lennar as the third S&P 500 member to report such Q3 results, with an additional six index members on deck this week including Costco, AutoZone and Darden. Total Q3 earnings for the three S&P 500 members that have reported results already are up +22.6% from the same period last year on +14.9% higher revenues, with 33.3% beating EPS estimates and 66.7% besting revenue estimates.
Intel and SK Hynix Explore US Memory Chip Partnership as Shares Surge
Intel and SK Hynix are exploring partnership opportunities to manufacture memory chips in the United States, reportedly centered on Intel's long-delayed Ohio manufacturing complex, with possibilities ranging from SK Hynix leasing capacity to a broader joint venture involving cloud companies. No formal partnership has been announced, and SK Hynix stressed that no specific plans or arrangements have been finalized. Since reports of the potential partnership surfaced Wednesday, Intel shares have surged roughly 10%, while SK Hynix has climbed about 5%; SK Hynix stock has risen 20% since its U.S. Nasdaq debut in July, while Intel is up about 4% over the same period. Intel's turnaround is gaining traction independently, with Q2 revenue jumping 25% year over year to $16.1 billion, Data Center and AI revenue surging 59% to $6.3 billion, Intel Foundry revenue up 31%, and management guiding Q3 sales to $15.8-$16.8 billion, while the Zacks Consensus calls for fiscal 2026 revenue to rise nearly 18% and FY26 EPS to soar to $1.50 from $0.42 per share last year. SK Hynix reported record Q2 performance amid robust AI demand, began mass shipments of HBM4 with production expected to ramp through the second half of the year, and shipped samples of HBM4E, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for FY26 revenue to soar over 250% to $240.09 billion and EPS to jump more than 500% to $25.69. Despite its AI-memory leadership, SK Hynix trades at a forward P/E multiple of 7X, while Intel trades at more than 100X forward earnings; SK Hynix carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Intel holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Tesla Seeks Federal Ruling Over Terafab Name for $16.8 Billion Chip Complex
Tesla and SpaceX are seeking a federal ruling that the Terafab name does not infringe trademark rights held by TERA-print, adding a legal fight to the company's planned $16.8 billion chip complex. Tesla filed three Terafab-related trademark applications in May, and the planned Texas operation would manufacture, package and test advanced logic and memory chips for Optimus robots, Cybercabs and SpaceX data centers. Tesla shares slipped roughly 1% to $362.84 on Friday. The stock trades 8.66% above its $333.92 GF Value, indicating investors still pay a premium for Tesla's long-term growth ambitions. The larger question is whether Tesla can turn the $16.8 billion capital commitment into reliable semiconductor output, since bringing chip production in-house adds execution risk around yields, utilization, engineering talent and manufacturing discipline.
Micron Unveils 512GB Server Memory Module, Volume Production Set for 2027
Micron demonstrated a 512GB server memory module that holds as much memory as four 128GB modules, with AMD and Intel having validated it for future platforms, but volume production is not expected until the second half of 2027. The company said HBM4 has already crossed $1 billion in revenue, with the 12-high ramp running twice as fast as HBM3E, and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told investors that DRAM and NAND industry demand continues to significantly exceed industry supply, a tightness he expects to persist beyond calendar 2027. Micron has signed 16 Strategic Customer Agreements covering roughly 25% of revenue over their term, with cumulative minimum-price RPO of approximately $100 billion. The stock trades at a trailing PE of 21x and a forward PE of 6x, with the average analyst target at $1,513.11, against consensus fiscal 2027 EPS of $156.0661 on revenue of $244.46 billion, up from a fiscal 2026 EPS estimate of $73.4388. Micron is now the only US maker in both DRAM and NAND after the SanDisk spinoff left Western Digital out of NAND, though the 2027 pricing backdrop the new module lands into cannot be forecast from here.
Intel CEO Warns Memory Prices Up 5x to 7x as Shortage Threatens 2027
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan warned this week that memory prices have jumped 5x to 7x and now account for roughly 75% of the cost of some lower-end phones and laptops, cautioning the shortage could deepen in 2027. Tan told investors the industry faces one of the most severe supply constraints in its history across leading-edge logic, silicon wafers, memory, and subscripts, and said these shortages will persist for the foreseeable future. Intel is pivoting production toward data-center CPUs and now guides 2026 capital expenditure above $20 billion, with 2027 spending set to run significantly higher. Micron Technology echoed the outlook, saying it sees tightness continuing beyond 2027, aligned with SK hynix flagging 2027 as potentially the industry's worst supply year. Micron's $100 billion in take-or-pay remaining performance obligations and $22 billion in customer deposits and letters of credit lock in floor pricing above prior peak margins, while its fiscal third-quarter gross margin hit 84.9% on DRAM pricing gains in the low 60s percentage range and NAND pricing in the mid-80s percentage range.
Seagate Gets $899 Price Target as AI Storage Demand Sells Out Capacity Through 2027
Seagate Technology received a buy rating and a $899.28 price target from 24/7 Wall St., implying 14.82% upside over the next 12 months at a 90% confidence level. The call follows a blowout fiscal Q4 report on July 28, 2026, in which Seagate posted revenue of $3.63 billion, up 48.49% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $5.71, beating expectations by 12.11%, while full-year FY26 free cash flow hit a record $3.105 billion, up 279.58%. Management now guides to annual revenue growth of a minimum of 20% over the next few years, up from prior mid-teens targets, and CEO Dave Mosley said nearline capacity is almost fully allocated through calendar 2027. Mosaic 4 HAMR drives deliver up to 44 terabytes per drive, and Mosaic 5 is targeting 50 terabytes with qualification shipments in late 2027. The stock trades at a forward P/E of 23, roughly in line with Western Digital's 21, while Micron's forward P/E of 6 highlights how much Seagate has already re-rated; the bear case lands at $685.64 on hyperscaler concentration risk.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro Debuts With $100 Price Bump to $1,199
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max went on sale Friday, the company's first new iPhone launch under CEO John Ternus and its first to hit the market amid the AI-driven global memory and storage shortage. The memory crunch pushed the base iPhone 18 Pro to $1,199 and the base iPhone 18 Pro Max to $1,299, a $100 increase over the iPhone 17 Pros. The foldable iPhone Duo is not due out until Oct. 23 and will cost $1,999. Demand for the Pro models is running hot, with orders placed today facing a three-week wait for delivery. Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster wrote Friday that Pro model pre-order lead times are about 15% longer than a year ago on launch day, and that the dual-cycle launch, which splits the base iPhone 18, iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2 into early next year, appears to be helping early sales. The new phones ship with the improved Apple Intelligence platform and AI-powered Siri AI, which remains in beta.
Apple's Siri AI Cycle Could Drive Shares to $450 by 2027, Analyst Says
Apple is trading below what a full Siri AI cycle could justify, according to a 24/7 Wall St. analysis, even after posting $109.42 billion in fiscal Q3 revenue, its ninth consecutive EPS beat, and a 22% iPhone growth rate cited by CEO Tim Cook. Shares are up 23.19% year to date and sit near the top of a $235.78 to $344.27 52-week range, but the Street consensus target of $325.66 is essentially flat with the current $334.31 price, while the firm's own model projects a base case of $378.88 and a bull case of $431.31. Reaching $450 by 2027 would require a 34.6% gain and a forward P/E of 46x, roughly 7 turns of multiple expansion above the base case, and depends on three catalysts: a clean Siri AI launch with subscription revenue, memory cost normalization by mid-2027, and iPhone 18 sustaining 22% growth. Cook warned of a 100-year flood in memory pricing and said supply constraints will increase significantly in the September quarter across iPhone, Mac, and iPad, while Q3 gross margin got a roughly 2-percentage-point benefit from one-time tariff refunds. The primary risk is a China revenue reversal that would undercut the growth story entirely.
Micron Trades at 6x Forward Earnings as Analysts See 59% Upside
Micron Technology is trading at roughly 6x forward earnings against a consensus analyst price target of $1,513.11, implying about 59% upside from its current $953.49 share price. The Boise-based memory maker, the only U.S.-headquartered producer of DRAM and NAND at scale, has signed 16 multi-year take-or-pay contracts covering roughly 25% of revenue, backed by $22 billion in cash deposits and letters of credit, with remaining performance obligations near $100 billion. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said AI has elevated the value of memory, and management expects high-bandwidth memory supply tightness to persist beyond calendar 2027, with data-center DRAM and NAND bit shipments projected to more than double from two years ago. Micron has already shipped over $1 billion in HBM4 revenue, with the 12-high volume ramp tracking twice as fast as HBM3E 12-high, and fiscal fourth-quarter guidance calls for record revenue of $50 billion plus or minus $1 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $31 plus or minus $1 at a gross margin near 86%. The stock is up 234.28% year-to-date and 501.33% over the past year, and beginning December 9, 2026, Micron plans to increase capital returns and eventually return 100% of excess cash to shareholders.
Nvidia CEO Huang Says Chip Sales Will Double Next Year
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company expects to sell roughly twice as many chips next year as it does this year, calling it one of his strongest signals yet that AI demand remains far from exhausted. Speaking to reporters Thursday at a summit in Scotland with King Charles III, Huang said the reason is AI's contribution to different industries and economies, and that people in almost every country Nvidia operates in want to invest in AI. The forecast adds to Nvidia's increasingly aggressive outlook: the company recently said it expects roughly 70% growth in the fiscal year ending January 2028, which would put annual revenue around $673 billion. Nvidia does not disclose total chip unit shipments, making Huang's volume forecast difficult to translate directly into revenue, though its most important products include data-center GPUs, particularly Blackwell and next-generation Rubin systems; Huang said last fall that Nvidia had shipped about 6 million Blackwell GPUs over four quarters. The comments come as investors debate whether hyperscaler spending and model-training demand can keep growing at the breakneck pace seen during the first phase of the AI buildout, with the key question being not simply whether Nvidia can double chip volumes but what that mix looks like, since higher shipments of premium Blackwell and Rubin systems could support enormous revenue growth while greater unit volume at lower average selling prices would produce a different margin outcome.
BofA Forecasts Global Chip Market Nearly Doubling to $3.2 Trillion by 2030
Bank of America forecasts the global semiconductor market will nearly double to $3.2 trillion by 2030 from $1.7 trillion in 2026, citing continued strength in AI infrastructure, memory and data-center demand. Within that total, BofA expects memory sales to climb from $937 billion in 2026 to $1.8 trillion by 2030, core semiconductor sales to rise from $739 billion to $1.35 trillion, and server-related sales to increase from $359 billion to $848 billion. The bank also projects wafer-fabrication equipment spending will more than double to $359.8 billion by 2030 from $155.9 billion in 2026, with 2027 largely fully booked and contracted across compute, networking and memory vendors and supply expected to stay tight in 2028. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained around 3.14% on Thursday after five negative sessions, though it remains up about 91.19% over the past year and 59.14% year to date. BofA flagged a potential slowdown in hyperscalers' AI spending as the biggest risk to its outlook, even as recent calls for a more measured pace of AI development from figures including Dario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk have weighed on the broader AI trade.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Signals Chip Sales to Double Next Year
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Thursday he expects the company to sell twice as many chips in the next year as it did this year, a signal to investors that demand has not yet peaked. Huang attributed the outlook to AI investment spreading across industries, economies and countries. Management said consumer expectations point to another doubling of growth next year, and Nvidia projected around 70% revenue growth for the fiscal year ending January 2028, bringing revenue to almost $673 billion. Management classified the outlook as supply tight, implying Nvidia's capacity to ship chips could remain one of the largest impediments to growth. Last year, Huang said the company shipped around 6 million Blackwell GPUs in four quarters, and Rubin is now coming up as the next big part of the product cycle.
Goldman Sachs has pushed back on fears that U.S. corporate profits are in an "earnings bubble," even as it acknowledged some companies are "over-earning." Analyst Ben Snider noted that S&P 500 earnings per share grew 51% in the second quarter and 26% over the past four quarters, lifting profits well above their long-term trend. He added that while the index's forward price-to-earnings multiple of 19 is in line with its 10-year average, its multiple on trend earnings has been exceeded in recent decades only at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Still, Snider said, "our base case is for S&P 500 earnings growth to decelerate, not collapse, in coming years," forecasting EPS growth of 11% in both 2027 and 2028, to $415 and $460, respectively. The biggest long-term question is AI, he said, noting the investment boom has driven nearly half of this year's earnings growth, a tailwind that should fade in 2028 as capital spending slows and depreciation mounts, turning into a marginal drag. Snider also flagged risks from a potential fall in semiconductor prices, where an adverse scenario could cut S&P 500 earnings by about 10%, and from mega-cap technology firms' equity investment gains, which lifted second-quarter earnings by 12% but should diminish in 2027. He concluded that Goldman's 12-month S&P 500 return forecast of +14% to 8,700 reflects the view that earnings growth, rather than expanding valuations, will remain the primary driver of the bull market.
SK hynix Launches SK hynix Ventures to Back AI Startups
SK hynix has established a new corporate venture capital unit, SK hynix Ventures, to invest in AI-focused startups. The arm will target companies tied to AI, data centers, and advanced semiconductor technologies across global markets, with management describing the move as a shift toward active ecosystem building and deeper collaboration with technology partners. The venture unit is designed to sit directly in the deal flow supporting SK hynix's AI memory narrative, giving the company a structured way to back AI computing, data center, and system software startups that could become future customers or co-developers. The move also increases execution complexity alongside the group's already heavy investment requirements across fabs, advanced packaging, and HBM capacity, with the pay-off depending on whether the stakes reinforce the high bandwidth memory and SSD roadmap rather than dilute capital across too many AI bets.
US Approves $24.3B F-35 Sale to Saudi Arabia; China Tariff Decision May Slip
The State Department approved a potential $24.3B sale of 48 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft to Saudi Arabia, along with 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines and related equipment, a deal that still requires congressional approval and would strengthen Saudi Arabia's air defense and interoperability with U.S. and allied forces. Separately, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. could postpone announcing new tariffs on China and other countries until after President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping next week; a previously planned trade report was expected to recommend a 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods, while the final rate could potentially exceed the 20% level agreed during earlier talks. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company expects to sell roughly twice as many chips next year as this year as demand for AI infrastructure expands. China's ChangXin Memory Technologies is preparing to enter the NAND flash-memory market, with Reuters reporting that CXMT plans an R&D production line at its new Beijing plant and has established a research institute in the city, broadening its focus beyond DRAM. OpenAI has hired Brian McCarthy from SpaceX as vice president of worldwide sales, Fortune reported; McCarthy joined SpaceX through its acquisition of Cursor, where he led global revenue and field operations, and previously held senior sales roles at Rubrik, ThoughtSpot, AppDynamics and Qlik.
China's ChangXin Memory Technologies is preparing to enter the flash-memory chip market, expanding beyond its core DRAM business as a global memory shortage tightens supply and AI-related demand grows. According to a Reuters report citing sources familiar with the matter, CXMT plans to establish a research and development production line for NAND flash memory at its new plant in Beijing, and has also set up a research institute in the Chinese capital with NAND development among its projects. The move would put CXMT in direct competition with domestic rival Yangtze Memory Technologies, China's leading NAND manufacturer, and into a market dominated by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology. CXMT has discussed its NAND plans with potential customers, including a newly established startup that plans to use its chips in storage products for AI systems and supercomputers, one source said, though it remains unclear when the R&D line will begin operating or whether CXMT will progress from trial production to large-scale commercial manufacturing. The expansion comes as strong AI-server demand has created a global memory shortage that industry executives expect to persist through at least 2027, with memory makers prioritizing DRAM and high-bandwidth memory capacity for AI applications and limiting additions to NAND production. CXMT and YMTC have traditionally focused on DRAM and NAND respectively, but are now expanding into each other's markets as tight supply supports pricing and strengthens their position with Chinese customers.
KKP Research raises Thailand's 2026 GDP forecast to 2.5%, flags K-shaped recovery
KKP Research, part of the Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group, has raised its forecast for Thailand's economic growth in 2026 to 2.5% from 2.1%, and for 2027 to 2.7% from 2.2%, driven by the tourism sector, private investment, and exports linked to the global artificial intelligence investment cycle, or AI capex cycle. It noted, however, that the Thai economy is now fully entering a K-shaped recovery, in which some industries are soaring while the grassroots economy and traditional industries remain sluggish. The main driver comes from the electronics supply chain, particularly the data storage industry and components related to AI infrastructure, in contrast to the country's four core industries, which face continued pressure: the automotive sector, hit by the transition to electric vehicles; petrochemicals, facing regional oversupply; and SMEs and electrical appliances, which must contend with competition from imported goods. KKP Research noted that although the IMF ranks Thailand among the world's four largest exporters of AI-related goods, the country remains constrained by its position at the assembly and contract-manufacturing stage and its heavy reliance on imported raw materials, meaning the domestic economic benefit is smaller than the rise in export value. It proposed that the government link BOI incentives to domestic value creation and set conditions on clean energy and closed-loop water systems. On monetary policy, KKP Research lowered its 2026 inflation forecast to 1.8% and expects the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Thailand to hold the policy rate through the end of 2027, since inflationary pressure stems from cost factors that are temporary.
SK Hynix in talks with Intel to make memory chips in the US
SK Hynix is in preliminary talks with Intel to find ways to produce memory chips in the United States, according to an in-depth report by Reuters. The first option is that SK Hynix could seek to lease part of Intel's large chip manufacturing plant in Ohio. Another possible option is the creation of a joint venture between Intel, SK Hynix and a group of major cloud service providers. The move comes amid a severe shortage of memory chips, driven by soaring demand from artificial intelligence and data center technologies worldwide, and it also marks a political victory for the US government under the leadership of Donald Trump, which has pressured chipmakers to move production to the United States. However, the biggest obstacle may come from the South Korean government, since SK Hynix's core products, including DRAM chips, NAND Flash and advanced memory chips such as High-Bandwidth Memory, are all classified as national core technologies. South Korea's Ministry of Trade therefore states that any transfer of technology or establishment of production bases abroad must undergo strict review under the Industrial Technology Protection Act. Meanwhile, insider sources say that building and operating a semiconductor plant in the United States costs far more than in South Korea, including construction costs, labor costs and transportation costs. SK Hynix said it is considering various measures, including building additional production bases, but stressed that everything is still at an early stage and no final decision has been made. Intel declined to comment, saying it was only speculation, while confirming that it will continue to invest in Ohio according to its existing plans.
Fed raises rates for first time in 3 years to 3.75-4.00%, dragging Dow down 631 points
The US Federal Reserve, or Fed, raised interest rates by 0.25% to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, with a unanimous 12-0 vote by the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC. This is the first hike since July 2023, and the Fed signaled further increases this year in its fight against high inflation driven by surging crude oil prices amid the Iran-US war. The rate hike dragged the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 631.21 points, or 1.21%, to close at 51,461.90. The S&P 500 closed at 7,551.81, down 33.92 points, or 0.45%, while the Nasdaq closed at 25,978.42, down 3.15 points, or 0.01%. Technology stocks recovered, with semiconductor shares up 0.6%, the first gain since the AI company's executives warned against slowing development. Intel jumped 4% after reports that South Korea's SK Hynix is in talks with Intel about manufacturing memory chips in the United States, news that also lifted SK Hynix's US-listed shares by 0.6%. As for the Thai stock market, the index is expected to see a short-term technical rebound after the Fed's decision to raise rates came in as expected. The stock to watch today is GULF, which is investing more than 100 billion baht to develop a Data Center Park with a capacity of over 1,000 megawatts, with a plan expected to be finalized within this year, while accelerating the development of electricity and water infrastructure to serve major customers.
Generac Surges 18% on $8 Billion Amazon Data Center Generator Deal
Generac agreed to supply up to $8 billion worth of backup generators for Amazon's data centers, sending its shares up 18% and making it the top performer on the S&P 500. The company also issued a warrant for a stake in itself, according to a securities filing, and analysts said the stock could double in price over the next 12 to 18 months. The broader market closed higher, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding about 300 points, or roughly 0.6%, the S&P 500 gaining about 86 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rising about 1.7%. Intel shares climbed more than 7.5% after South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix said it might team up with the company, following a Reuters report that it could lease part of Intel's long-planned Ohio chip facility or form a venture, though SK Hynix said no decision has been made. Among decliners, Paramount Skydance fell more than 4.6% as a Barclays analyst argued its proposed merger with Warner Brothers could introduce massive financial and operational risks and predicted the company would eventually split up, while Fluence Energy tumbled 15% after cutting its revenue forecast, which analysts attributed to production issues at its Houston facility.
Iren CEO Touts AI Compute Demand as $684 Million Loss Weighs on Shares
Iren Limited CEO Daniel Roberts argued that demand for AI compute remains structurally constrained by limited supply, even as the company's shares fell nearly 5% on September 14 and dropped 12% after it reported a $684 million net loss in its fourth quarter FY26 results. Roberts cited Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's comment that his company was operating at an 80x pace versus a planned 10x, OpenAI President Greg Brockman's remarks on continued compute constraints, Google's sevenfold increase in processing volume from a year ago, and Nvidia's guidance for roughly 70% revenue growth while describing its own outlook as supply-constrained. On the supply side, he pointed to high-bandwidth memory shortages and Goldman Sachs data suggesting only about half of scheduled U.S. data center capacity will be built on time. The AI pivot is being supported by $6.4 billion in GPU financing, including $3.6 billion of investment-grade financing for the Microsoft contract, which together with customer prepayments funds 96% of the associated GPU capex, though the structure creates meaningful customer concentration risk. Iren reported $4 billion of contracted ARR for 2026 capacity while only about $1 billion of ARR was operating as of August 26, and hedge fund ownership rose to 69 funds at the end of the second quarter of 2026 from 53 at the end of the first quarter, while short interest stood at 24.46% of float as of August 31, 2026.
Zacks: Memory Shortage Far From Over, Micron and Sandisk Seen Extending Gains
The global memory shortage is far from over and may drive further upside for Micron Technology and Sandisk Corporation, according to a Zacks Investment Research analysis. TrendForce data cited in the report show regular DRAM contract prices jumped about 90%–95% in the first quarter of 2026, another 58%–63% in the second quarter, and are on track for a further 13%–18% increase in the third quarter, lifting a $1 DRAM chip to roughly $3.50, while NAND flash is up about 3x over the same stretch. IDC expects 2026 supply growth of only about 16% for DRAM and 17% for NAND, well below what AI demand requires, and new fabs from SK Hynix, Micron and Samsung are not expected to meaningfully add output until mid-to-late 2027 or later. Micron's fiscal Q3 revenue reached $41.5 billion, up from $9.3 billion a year ago, with gross margin of roughly 85% and adjusted EPS of $25.11, and management guided fiscal Q4 to roughly $50 billion in revenue, an 86% gross margin and approximately $31 in EPS ahead of its September 30 report. Sandisk's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $8.97 billion, up 51% sequentially, with adjusted EPS of $39.25, and it guided fiscal Q1 to $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS between $44 and $46, with management saying the total NAND market could exceed $300 billion in 2026.
Astera Labs Expands Leo Memory Controllers for AI and Cloud Workloads
Astera Labs unveiled new Leo Smart Memory Controller solutions, including the Leo X-Series and Leo 2 E & P-Series, targeting AI and cloud workloads. The expanded Leo lineup is built for large-scale AI uses such as KV-cache and agentic AI, aiming to improve memory efficiency for hyperscalers. Astera Labs is collaborating with major CPU, GPU, and memory vendors and is showcasing the Leo family at the AI Infra Summit. The company designs connectivity chips that link CPUs, GPUs, and memory inside cloud and AI data centers, and its Leo controllers plug directly into the core plumbing that lets large AI workloads access high volumes of data efficiently.
Camtek Projects 45% Advanced Packaging Growth on AI Chip Inspection Demand
Camtek, the dominant player in advanced packaging inspection and metrology with about 60% market share, is positioning itself for strong growth as AI chip demand expands. In its most recent quarter, roughly 80% of orders were for advanced packaging inspection, driven by memory chip manufacturers transitioning to HBM4 chips and expanding production amid the memory shortage. Camtek's Q2 revenue rose 8% year over year to a record $133 million, and third-quarter revenue is expected to rise about 20% sequentially to around $159 million, with second-half revenue projected to grow 25% over the first half. CEO Rafi Amit said on the Q2 earnings call that the company's leading position in advanced packaging is expected to drive approximately 45% growth in that business in the second half of 2026 compared with the first half. The broader advanced packaging inspection industry is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11% over the next five years to $6.2 billion, up from $3.7 billion in 2026, and most orders coming in now will be executed in 2027. Camtek stock is up 25% year to date and 52% over the past 12 months, though it has fallen about 35% from its May peak, leaving its trailing P/E around 184 and its forward P/E at 27, with analysts holding a median price target of $190 per share.
Micron Opens $2.75 Billion India Chip Facility as AI Memory Demand Surges
Micron Technology is expanding its global manufacturing footprint with a new $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India, as demand for memory and storage accelerates alongside artificial intelligence. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said Micron plans to scale production at the Sanand facility next year, giving the company additional capacity as AI workloads drive heavier demand for DRAM and NAND products. The facility represents a combined investment of roughly $2.75 billion from Micron and its government partners, and Micron has already begun commercial production at Sanand, with finished DRAM and NAND products now being shipped to customers globally. Speaking at SEMICON India 2026, Mehrotra said the Sanand site is the first semiconductor assembly and test facility in India and the first project under the India semiconductor mission, and that its production capacity already exceeds the amount of memory required for India's entire laptop market. The India expansion focuses on conventional assembly and testing while complementing Micron's planned investments in more advanced manufacturing and packaging capacity in the United States.
Leverage Shares Launches 2X Short SK Hynix ETF SKHQ on CBOE
Leverage Shares has rolled out the Leverage Shares 2X Short SK Hynix Daily ETF, trading on CBOE under the ticker SKHQ, an inverse single-stock fund that seeks negative two-times the daily return of SK Hynix, the Korean DRAM and high-bandwidth memory leader whose ADRs trade on NASDAQ as SKHY. The fund is structured through swap counterparties to deliver -2x SKHY's move each session, giving U.S. retail investors a tool to bet against the AI memory trade where shorting the ADR is difficult and expensive and the Korean ordinary shares, Korea:000660, are effectively off-limits. Leverage Shares extended the lineup on September 2, 2026, with a companion 1X Short Daily ETF, a signal that issuer demand for hedging tools around this name is intensifying. SK Hynix just reported preliminary Q2 2026 revenue of KRW 79.32 trillion, up 256.8% year over year, with gross margin of 60.4% and operating margin of 48.6%, and the ADR now sits at $183.75 after a 7.22% one-month gain. The article flags that any sequential HBM ASP decline or an NVIDIA guide-down on GPU shipments has historically pulled SK Hynix down 15% to 25% over the following two months, a roughly 30% to 50% single-move tailwind for SKHQ before decay effects, while the Indiana HBM plant groundbreaking on August 27, 2026 and a KRW 40 trillion accelerated buyback tighten the floor under SKHY. Expense ratio, AUM, and NAV history were not disclosed, and the 497K prospectus filed with the SEC is cited as the canonical source to check before sizing any position.
Arm CEO Says Demand Is Off the Charts as Supply Chain Bottlenecks Cap Revenue
Arm CEO Rene Haas said demand is running at record strength across edge, automotive, robotics and data center, and that near-term revenue growth is capped by a multi-stage manufacturing bottleneck spanning wafers, substrates, testers and memory rather than by any softening in orders. Data-center royalty revenue more than doubled year over year last quarter, and the most recent 500 million Neoverse cores shipped in nine months after the first billion took six years, while IDC reported spending on Arm-based accelerated server platforms nearly doubled over the past two quarters and surpassed x86. Haas said his confidence in hitting the $2 billion AGI CPU target rose from May to July and again from July to September, after he earlier cut that target to $1 billion on foundry capacity worries, and Arm has secured the manufacturing capacity needed to support the $1 billion opportunity for the AGI CPU. The AGI CPU, Arm's first in-house data center chip, carries first-generation gross margin guidance in the high 30% range to low 40s with a path to 50% over the next couple of years, below core royalty margins, so silicon revenue will initially dilute reported profitability. Arm shares trade at $243.98, down 10.11% over the past month and 7.66% in the last week but up 123.2% year to date, at a trailing P/E near 247x, after Q1 FY2027 EPS of $0.25 missed the $0.40 estimate and operating margin compressed to 7% from 11%; analysts carry an average target of $288.70.
Barclays strategist Venu Krishna warned Thursday that the Federal Reserve's first rate hike since 2023 will not tame the explosive memory chip price inflation driven by the AI boom, calling it a key earnings risk to watch in 2027. Krishna said rapidly expanding compute requirements for training and inference are straining an already limited supply of memory chips. He pointed to recent commentary from major memory buyers, noting that Apple attributed all of its recent gross margin compression to higher memory costs expected to persist near term, while HP Inc. expects memory and storage costs to rise further as a percentage of bill of materials. Samsung, both a memory manufacturer and customer, said pre-booked demand implies a wider memory supply-demand gap in 2027 than in 2026, reinforcing expectations for sustained pricing strength. The market has tightened as demand for high-bandwidth memory and advanced dynamic random-access memory used in AI servers outpaces supply, with SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Micron largely sold out of premium AI memory capacity through much of 2026 as customers including Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta race to build AI infrastructure. Experts expect supply to remain constrained into 2027, a favorable backdrop for producers such as Micron and Sandisk but likely higher-than-expected costs for companies that run their businesses on these chips.
Camtek Eyes US$0.98 EPS as Q3 2026 Revenue Guidance Points to 20% Growth
Camtek is heading into its upcoming earnings report with analysts projecting earnings per share of US$0.98, up from the same quarter last year, after the stock closed its most recent session at US$138.59. The company has guided for Q3 2026 revenue of US$158 million to US$160 million, implying about 20 percent sequential growth, supported by large Hawk and Eagle G5 orders tied to AI and HBM applications. Camtek's narrative projects US$821.7 million in revenue and US$367.0 million in earnings by 2029, requiring 18.1 percent yearly revenue growth and roughly a US$319 million earnings increase from US$48.1 million today, with a fair value estimate of US$187.25, a 35 percent upside to the current price. The most cautious analysts assume revenue of about US$762 million and earnings near US$375 million by 2029, underscoring how sharply expectations can differ. The core risk remains that demand from a concentrated set of HPC and Asia based customers could prove more volatile than expected.
China unveils five-year plan to build up electronics industry, targeting revenue above 4.5 trillion dollars by 2030
China has unveiled a new five-year development plan for manufacturing in electronics- and information technology-related industries, setting a target to raise revenue above 30 trillion yuan, or 4.5 trillion dollars, by 2030. The plan was drawn up jointly by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or MIIT, and the National Development and Reform Commission, or NDRC. It covers the strategic framework from 2026 to 2030 and reflects the Chinese government's push for supply chain self-reliance, aiming for global leadership in strategically important emerging technologies from artificial intelligence to advanced computing, amid ongoing global competition. Beyond the revenue target, China also aims to raise research and development investment in the industry to 3.5% by 2030, setting out 17 missions covering nine key industry groups, from electronic components and materials, specialised manufacturing and measurement equipment, photonics, advanced computing, consumer electronics, power electronics, positioning and timing information technology, chips and AI endpoint devices, through to industrial electronics. The plan also drives technology development in the integrated circuit industry supply chain, while upgrading advanced electronic materials and smart sensors. In computing and memory, China will develop high-bandwidth flash memory alongside new forms of storage products such as Ferroelectric RAM, Resistive RAM and Magnetoresistive RAM, and aims to build very large-scale intelligent computing infrastructure supporting AI clusters equipped with hundreds of thousands of accelerator cards, while accelerating the deployment of space computing technology. The announcement of this sector-specific plan follows China's release on September 7 of its 15th five-year development plan for the information and communications industry, drawn up by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Samsung Deepens AI Chip Push With Mistral AI and ASML Deals
Samsung Electronics agreed a new collaboration with Mistral AI to deploy advanced on-premises AI models in chip manufacturing, and expanded its partnership with ASML to include High NA EUV lithography for future memory and logic production lines. The company plans to use these AI and High NA EUV tools to support precision, security and efficiency in its semiconductor operations. Samsung runs a broad hardware and components portfolio across consumer devices, IT and mobile, and chipmaking, so tighter links with specialist AI model developers and lithography equipment suppliers speak directly to how its device solutions arm positions itself within global semiconductor supply chains. The move strengthens the Samsung Electronics Narrative catalyst around tight memory supply and HBM4E demand, while closer cooperation with ASML on High NA EUV and 12 inch photomasks leans into the heavy R&D and capex risk already flagged, since each new generation of tools can lift capital intensity and execution pressure in fabs. Investors should watch how Samsung describes AI enabled yield, defect detection and High NA EUV deployment progress in its next few quarterly disclosures, especially any 2027 to 2028 updates tied to planned High NA introduction in DRAM high volume manufacturing.
SK Hynix Unveils Full-Stack AI Memory Strategy at 2026 Future Forum
SK Hynix presented a structural shift in its business strategy at the 2026 Future Forum, saying it will move beyond selling faster chips to become a full-stack AI memory creator that jointly designs complete, workload-optimized memory architectures with customers. The South Korean company said it aims to collaborate across AI services, software, accelerators and memory rather than optimize memory devices in isolation, using 3D integration and advanced packaging as foundational technologies. SK Hynix recently began mass shipments of HBM4 and, in early August 2026, announced it will invest roughly 54 trillion KRW, or $38 billion, to expand domestic memory chip manufacturing in South Korea alongside a new $4 billion packaging plant in the United States. Last month the company announced an accelerated 40 trillion won, or $28.7 billion, share-repurchase and cancellation program, its largest treasury share cancellation in the history of South Korean listed companies, covering up to 24.07 million common shares, about 3.3% of its outstanding stock, over roughly three months from Aug. 20. SK Hynix also intends to return more than 50% of the cumulative free cash flow generated between 2025 and 2027 to shareholders, and its earnings per share estimates have risen over the past 60 days for the third quarter, the fourth quarter, full-year 2026 and 2027. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), and Wall Street's consensus price target points to approximately 42% upside from the current share price.
Micron Faces Earnings Test as AI-Driven Memory Demand Meets High Expectations
Micron Technology is heading into its third-quarter results facing a tougher test than simply beating Wall Street projections, as investors ask whether AI has fundamentally changed the memory-chip business. Revenue rose to $41.46 billion from $9.30 billion a year earlier, while gross margin climbed to 84.9% from 39%, and adjusted earnings came to $25.11 per share. Management is guiding for fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $50 billion and gross margin of 86%, against consensus projections of about $50.4 billion in revenue and $30.89 in adjusted earnings per share. Micron has also signed about $22 billion in client agreements, including take-or-pay contracts that give more visibility into demand, according to investor Sharon McArd, who said AI has made memory a more strategic part of data-center infrastructure. The larger clue may be Micron's guidance for high-bandwidth memory, pricing and fiscal 2027, with Sept. 30 set to test whether the company's outsized stats are just another memory bubble or something more permanent.
GlobalFoundries Expands Chip Partnerships Across AI, Quantum and Automotive
GlobalFoundries is broadening its growth prospects by expanding collaborations across emerging semiconductor applications, including AI, optical networking, power management, automotive, edge computing and quantum technologies. The company recently signed a long-term manufacturing agreement with Monolithic Power Systems, under which Monolithic will deploy its proprietary process technology at GlobalFoundries' advanced 300mm facility in Singapore to address automotive architectures, industrial robotics and automation, and smart power stages for AI and cloud infrastructure. In the second quarter, GlobalFoundries' communications infrastructure and data-center end market generated more than 60% year-over-year growth, driven by demand for optical networking across its silicon photonics and silicon germanium platforms. In September, the company finalized a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce's CHIPS Research and Development Office for up to $375 million in R&D funding over five years. GlobalFoundries also announced a strategic collaboration with RAAAM Memory Technologies, whose Gain-Cell RAM memory can take up 40% less space on a chip and use up to 60% less power than traditional SRAM, with GlobalFoundries providing the FDX platform manufacturing technology. The financial impact of these collaborations depends on successful commercialization, customer adoption and production ramps.
Broadcom Trades at 19x Forward Earnings Despite 221% AI Revenue Surge
Broadcom is trading at just 19 times forward earnings even as its AI semiconductor revenue surged 221% year over year to $16.70 billion, a disconnect that 24/7 Wall St. calls an opportunity with a $423.95 price target implying 22.31% upside from the current $344.05 quote. The call follows a fiscal Q3 report in which total revenue reached $29.591 billion, up 85.5% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $3.32 beating consensus, and management guided Q4 AI revenue to $21.7 billion. CEO Hock Tan said Q3 demand was simply hot and that the company is just getting started, and management now targets fiscal 2027 AI revenue of $115 billion and fiscal 2028 AI revenue of $230 billion across a $350 billion two-year shipment pipeline spanning six XPU customers including Google, OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic. Broadcom's 19x forward multiple looks cheap against NVIDIA at 24x, AMD at 33x, and Marvell at 56x, despite faster AI revenue acceleration than those peers, and the Wall Street consensus target sits at $531.85 with 37 Buy and 8 Strong Buy ratings. Execution risk remains the biggest concern, with Tan flagging land, power, and shell constraints on capacity deployment and potential bottlenecks in HBM memory, substrates, and leading-edge wafers, while the bear scenario lands at $374.92, still above today's price.
TSMC Q2 Revenue Jumps 36% as CoWoS Packaging Bottleneck Drives Pricing Power
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported second-quarter 2026 EPS of $4.31 against a $3.8866 estimate, a 10.89% beat, on revenue of $40.2 billion, up 36.0% year over year, with gross margin of 67.7%, up 9.1 percentage points year over year. Advanced nodes at 7nm and below accounted for 77% of wafer revenue, with 3nm at 30%, 5nm at 33%, and 2nm debuting at 3% in its first commercial quarter. August monthly revenue rose 53.3% year over year, and management raised full-year 2026 growth guidance to slightly above 40% year over year in U.S. dollar terms. Management said packaging capacity is so tight that it is now a little bit of customers' growth, pointing to the CoWoS advanced packaging step as the industry's real choke point. The company guided that the steep 2nm ramp will dilute third-quarter gross margin by about 3 to 4 percentage points, while citing an additional $100 billion U.S. investment and a total Arizona commitment of $265 billion, $110 billion in cash and marketable securities, a 2024 to 2029 revenue CAGR approaching 25% in USD, and a long-term gross margin above 56%.
Altimeter's Gerstner Blames AI 'Negativity' on Political Agenda, Opens Qualcomm and Micron Positions
Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital, said on CNBC that he supports AI safety measures but believes recent fears are being exaggerated to advance a political agenda, adding that he wants an investigation into who is behind the negativity and where the money is coming from. Altimeter's second-quarter 13F filings show the fund opened new positions in several technology and AI-related companies, including Qualcomm and Micron Technology. Altimeter bought 1.88 million Qualcomm shares valued at about $347.9 million as of June 30, a position accounting for 3.54% of the fund's reported US equity portfolio. It also acquired 209,520 Micron shares worth roughly $241.8 million, representing 2.46% of the portfolio. Bulls argue the market still views Qualcomm as a smartphone-chip company and is overlooking its potential as an AI data-center supplier, pointing to its High Bandwidth Compute architecture, which Qualcomm says delivers 6 times more bandwidth per watt than high-bandwidth memory and which Microsoft and Meta have agreed to use. The main risk is that HBC remains unproven, with the first chips set to arrive with Qualcomm's upcoming AI250 accelerator and no testing yet at scale in real data centers.
Nvidia and SK Hynix Signal Higher Memory Prices Ahead of Micron Results
Micron Technology is set to report its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results on Sept. 30, with Nvidia and SK Hynix signaling that the memory price surge driving Micron's growth will continue. Nvidia, reporting its fiscal 2027 second-quarter results last month, said it faces extreme pricing conditions in memory that exceeded prior expectations and are headed even higher into next year, with CFO Colette Kress warning of gross margin pressure from higher component costs. SK Hynix expects the memory shortage to worsen next year and estimates demand could outstrip supply beyond 2030, while KB Securities estimates SK Hynix holds just 10 days of memory inventory. Nvidia estimates capital spending by the top five hyperscalers could rise to $1.3 trillion in 2027 from $800 billion this year. Consensus estimates project Micron's fiscal 2027 revenue rising 88% to $244.5 billion and earnings per share jumping 112% to $156.07, with the stock trading at 6.6 times forward earnings versus 21 for the S&P 500.