New York, Jan 31, 2026, 14:06 EST — The market has closed.
- Lam Research shares dropped roughly 6% by Friday’s close, following a volatile session.
- The drop followed just days after a strong earnings report and a forecast that beat expectations.
- Monday finds investors zeroed in on export-control risks and upcoming data and earnings releases.
Lam Research (LRCX) shares ended Friday down 5.9%, closing at $233.46. The stock swung between a high of $251.90 and a low of $232.28 throughout the session. Trading volume hit roughly 18.4 million shares.
The decline came just two days after Lam projected third-quarter revenue of $5.7 billion, with a $300 million margin, topping Wall Street forecasts. The company also posted December-quarter results that exceeded expectations. CEO Tim Archer noted, “Entering 2026, our expanding product and services portfolio is enabling the market’s transition to smaller, more complex three-dimensional devices and packages.” Reuters
Friday’s move caught attention for that reason. Lam’s outlook is widely viewed as a barometer for chip-equipment spending, especially with memory and advanced packaging demand driving the trend.
The wider market dragged down sentiment, with the S&P 500 dropping 0.43% on Friday. Applied Materials took a bigger hit, sliding 5.57% in that session.
Analyst responses were varied, though leaned positive. TD Cowen bumped Lam’s price target sharply to $290 from $170, maintaining its buy rating, Investing.com reported.
During the earnings call, Archer told analysts the “AI transformation is driving industry spending higher.” Finance chief Doug Bettinger expects growth “every quarter from the previous quarter” but flagged customer clean-room capacity as a key timing variable. Investing.com
But the risk hasn’t disappeared. In its quarterly filing from Jan. 29, Lam noted that some international sales hinge on export licenses and cautioned that tighter license rules could further shrink demand for its products. The company also revealed that China accounted for roughly 39% of its total revenue in the six months ending Dec. 28, 2025.
Lam provides both GAAP and non-GAAP numbers. The “non-GAAP” figures remove items like stock-based compensation and other adjustments, a format investors frequently rely on to gauge the operating trend.
Monday’s key question: can the stock hold above Friday’s low near $232, after falling short of staying close to $250?
Rates remain in focus this week as traders parse U.S. policy cues following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep rates unchanged at its recent meeting.
The U.S. January employment report is scheduled for Feb. 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Applied Materials will release its results on Feb. 12, while Lam faces scrutiny over whether it can hit its forecasted ranges for the quarter ending March 29.
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