NEW YORK, June 25, 2026, 12:04 (EDT)
- Late in the morning, memory and storage suppliers had gained roughly $239 billion in market cap. Five large AI-related names dropped an estimated $417 billion.
- Micron’s $22 billion in customer deals turned the AI chip talk to pricing power and who will have it.
- Apple’s MacBook and iPad price hikes showed investors who picks up the tab when memory supply gets tight.
U.S. cash markets traded Thursday during normal hours on the New York Stock Exchange, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. It wasn’t just AI stocks bouncing. Some investors picked up shares in chipmakers with limited memory supply, dumping others with higher AI expenses or steeper input costs.
By late morning, Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK), Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) had picked up roughly $239 billion in market cap based on last prices and capitalisations. With Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) included, the gain was near $247 billion. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had shed around $417 billion using the same method.
That’s important now that AI isn’t trading as a single bet. Suppliers who can deliver capacity and have contracts are already getting paid. Buyers and platform firms are dealing with higher costs, tighter spending reviews, and more pressure to prove returns.
Micron came out with a firm number for investors. The company reported 16 strategic customer deals worth $22 billion in commitments, backed by take-or-pay clauses, cash up front, and price floors. Micron also listed around $100 billion in performance obligations still outstanding. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the results point to the “strategic value of memory in the AI era.” Micron Technology
Mehrotra told Reuters he sees tight memory supply sticking around past 2027. Daniel Newman, CEO at Futurum Group, said the size of the AI buildout kept getting “underestimated at every turn.” Jake Behan, from Direxion, pointed to the risk for bulls: “The bull case is built on tightness.” Reuters
Qualcomm gave supplier stocks another boost after it raised its fiscal 2029 non-handset revenue goal to $40 billion, doubling its earlier target. The company also put out a data-center revenue goal topping $15 billion. CEO Cristiano Amon called it “defining Qualcomm’s next chapter.” Qualcomm Investor Relations
Qualcomm said Microsoft and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) are using its new AI chips, and added that two unnamed hyperscalers have signed up for custom chips. “We will be truly diversified,” Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala told investors. Data center chief Tony Pialis said there was no need to chase hyperscale customers: “they’ve been pulling us in.” Reuters
Apple pushed through price hikes on iPads and MacBooks, bumping the MacBook Neo’s base price to $699 from $599. The company said memory and storage chips are too expensive now to absorb the cost increases. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said. Reuters
DRAM prices jumped up to 98% in the first quarter, with another 58% to 63% increase expected this quarter, Reuters reported, citing TrendForce. Apple CEO Tim Cook warned in April that rising memory costs would hit harder after June.
Nasdaq 100 stocks bounced after a two-day meltdown that Bloomberg reported erased close to $1.3 trillion in market value to start the week. Dan Ives, Wedbush, called the sharp move lower “gut check moments.” Michael O’Rourke, JonesTrading, said the heavy tilt toward chip stocks looked “somewhat alarming.” Advisor Perspectives
Sectors outperformed big tech in early trading. Reuters reported that eight of the 11 main S&P 500 sectors were up Thursday morning, led by industrials, and advancers beat decliners on both the NYSE and Nasdaq. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) added about 2.8% by late morning. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) also traded higher.
Michael Monaghan, a partner and portfolio manager at Founder ETFs, said Wednesday investors “like the recipients of the spend” and have moved against the companies that are doing the spending. Reuters
Long-duration growth stocks are still under pressure from rates. May PCE inflation landed at 4.1%, while first-quarter GDP growth ended up at 2.1%, according to Reuters. Michele Morganti, senior equity strategist at Generali Investments, said there’s still a chance the Federal Reserve hikes rates again this year.
