New York, Jan 14, 2026, 17:24 (EST) — Trading in after-hours session.
- Lam Research shares dropped again, dragging the Nasdaq down along with other tech stocks.
- New price-target upgrades from Wall Street failed to shake the prevailing risk-off sentiment.
- Investors are focused on TSMC’s guidance due Thursday, while Lam’s January 28 earnings will follow closely behind.
Lam Research (LRCX.O) slipped 2.6% to $208.79 in after-hours trading Wednesday, after moving between $206.66 and $215.80 earlier in the day. Volume reached roughly 18.2 million shares.
The stock dropped for two straight sessions after hitting $222.58 Monday, a recent peak, then closing at $214.38 Tuesday. The retreat was sharp as traders pared back positions ahead of several key events affecting chip stocks.
Lam plans to hold its December-quarter earnings call on Jan. 28, according to its investor website. Analysts polled by Nasdaq project earnings of $1.16 per share on roughly $5.22 billion in revenue.
Markets took a defensive turn on Wednesday. The Nasdaq dropped 1% as investors pulled back from expensive tech stocks. Bank shares continued their slide, pressured by mixed earnings and concerns over President Donald Trump’s plan to cap credit-card interest rates, Reuters reported. “After a nice run… you’re seeing profit-taking and consolidation,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. Reuters
Lam lagged behind certain equipment rivals. Applied Materials (AMAT.O) dropped roughly 1.0%, KLA (KLAC.O) lost 0.5%, and ASML (ASML.O) dipped 0.6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX.O) slipped 0.4%.
Analyst optimism remained intact, though it didn’t drive the stock higher. Stifel bumped its price target to $250 from $160, maintaining a buy rating on the back of positive field checks and an upgraded forecast for wafer fabrication equipment spending growth, now expected at 10%-15% in 2026. RBC Capital kicked off coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $260 price target, highlighting a rebound in NAND spending alongside strength in CoWoS and HBM segments. Bank of America raised its target to $245 from $195, sticking with a buy rating while emphasizing a stronger multi-year demand outlook and upside potential in free cash flow.
WFE — wafer fabrication equipment — refers to the machinery chipmakers invest in to build or upgrade fabs, and it typically moves sharply with capital-spending cycles. NAND denotes a memory type used in storage devices; CoWoS is a chip-packaging technique linked to cutting-edge AI processors, while HBM stands for high-bandwidth memory that runs alongside those chips.
Trade policy has returned to the spotlight. According to a White House fact sheet cited by Reuters, Trump slapped a 25% tariff on imports of certain advanced computing chips, including Nvidia’s H200 AI processor and AMD’s MI325X. Reuters notes the tariff excludes chips brought in for U.S. data centers and other specific uses. There’s also the possibility Trump could expand tariffs to cover a wider range of semiconductors and related products down the line.
This is the kind of market where solid data often gets overlooked. If trade restrictions intensify or clients pull back on spending, visibility into chip-equipment orders can disappear quickly — and stocks usually adjust ahead of the factories.
TSMC is set to release its earnings and guidance on Thursday, with analysts forecasting a record profit for the fourth quarter. The chipmaker will also provide its first-quarter and full-year outlook during the earnings call, Reuters reported.
Lam faces a crucial date on Jan. 28, as investors tune in for clues on 2026 WFE demand, memory spending, and whether trade tensions are impacting customer orders.
