Global chip stocks saw a significant rally on Thursday following U.S. semiconductor maker Micron’s revenue guidance, which surpassed market expectations. Micron projected revenue of $8.7 billion, plus or minus $200 million, for its fiscal quarter ending in November, beating estimates of $8.28 billion. This optimism led to a 15% surge in Micron’s stock price.
In South Korea, Micron’s competitors, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, also experienced sharp gains. Samsung’s stock closed up more than 4%, while SK Hynix jumped over 9%. SK Hynix’s rise was further fueled by its announcement of mass production of a new high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip version, targeting deliveries by the end of 2023. Both SK Hynix and Micron supply memory chips for Nvidia’s AI data center products, and HBM chips are increasingly seen as critical for artificial intelligence advancements.
Micron also emphasized that demand for its HBM chips remains strong, confirming they are sold out for 2024 and 2025, highlighting continued high demand in the AI space.
In Japan, shares of Tokyo Electron surged 8% after the company’s CFO forecast a 15% increase in AI-related sales, amounting to 690 billion yen ($4.8 billion) for the current fiscal year. Additionally, SoftBank Group, the majority owner of chip designer Arm, saw its stock rise by more than 4%.
The positive momentum extended to European markets, where Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML rose over 4% in early trading. Other European chip companies, including ASMI, Be Semiconductor, and STMicro, also experienced notable gains.
Featured Image courtesy of DALL-E by ChatGPT
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