New York, Jan 15, 2026, 05:29 EST — Premarket
Lam Research shares jumped 6.5% in premarket action Thursday, recovering ground lost the day before after new analyst coverage refocused attention on the chip-equipment maker. The stock last traded around $222.38, up from Wednesday’s $208.79 close.
Moves like this carry extra weight for semiconductor equipment stocks, since the story hinges on spending plans — when and how much chipmakers shell out for gear. Lam, a key player in etch and deposition tools, is set to report late January, with investors eager to see if demand extends beyond just a handful of AI-driven projects.
Stifel boosted its price target on Lam to $250 from $160, maintaining a Buy rating. The upgrade follows positive field checks and a brighter outlook on wafer fab equipment spending. The firm now forecasts 10%-15% growth in wafer fab equipment—the capital chipmakers allocate to manufacturing tools—in calendar 2026. “Field checks over the past few weeks have been bullish,” the analyst noted. TipRanks
Stifel noted separately that Lam’s system sales jumped over 40% in calendar 2025. The firm also highlighted a rising contribution from advanced foundry and logic spending—these are chips tailored for contract customers and processor-intensive tasks—in the 2026 lineup.
RBC Capital kicked off coverage on Lam, assigning an Outperform rating and a $260 price target. The firm highlighted a potential scenario where memory spending might outstrip overall equipment budgets, while Lam’s exposure to China is likely to decline.
Lam slipped 2.6% Wednesday, underperforming some rivals as U.S. stocks took a hit, with the S&P 500 falling 0.53%. The stock saw 18.1 million shares change hands, well above its 50-day average of 11.2 million.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the globe’s largest contract chipmaker, boosted confidence overnight with a 35% rise in quarterly profits and announced plans to increase capital spending for 2026 to between $52 billion and $56 billion. CFO Wendell Huang said on a conference call that the company expects “continuous strong demand” for its cutting-edge process technology to drive growth. AP News
Memory is back in the spotlight. SK Hynix announced plans this week to pour 19 trillion won ($12.9 billion) into a cutting-edge chip packaging plant in South Korea. The goal: ramp up production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the stacked memory powering AI accelerators. According to Macquarie Equity Research, SK Hynix grabbed a 61% slice of the HBM market last year.
For Lam, capital intensity stands out as the key factor. Investing heavily in advanced packaging and cutting-edge chip production usually means adding more process steps—and ramping up demand for specialized equipment—even when orders come in fits and starts.
Still, the upside scenario can unravel quickly. Premarket activity usually involves thin volume, and hitting targets doesn’t ensure orders will follow. Chipmakers might push back tool deliveries if demand fades or budgets tighten, and export controls along with geopolitical shocks continue to loom over the industry.
Lam Research will hold its quarterly earnings call and webcast on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific (5:00 p.m. Eastern). Investors will be watching closely for guidance updates, shifts in customer spending, and clues about wafer fab equipment budgets for 2026.
