U.S. memory chip stocks declined sharply overnight late Monday, tracking a drop in Samsung Electronics shares in Seoul after the South Korean chipmaker reported preliminary quarterly results.

Samsung issued a stellar second-quarter outlook, but investors took profits after the stock’s recent surge, suggesting the strong performance had already been priced in. Samsung stock was down over 6% in Seoul around 11 am local time.

In the U.S., Micron Technology and SanDisk Corp. stocks dropped around 4.5% each, while Western Digital shares slid nearly 4%. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which has Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron as its top three holdings, was down 4.8% overnight.

Samsung Posts Incredible Growth 

Samsung on Tuesday forecast second-quarter operating profit of 89.4 trillion won ($58.44 billion), which would be a 19-fold increase over the corresponding quarter last year and more than six times the operating profit in all of fiscal 2025. The figure handily surpassed the LSEG/Reuters estimate of 87.3 trillion won.

The profit surge is notable because it came even as Samsung set aside funds for sizable bonuses for its semiconductor workers under a wage agreement reached in May that links their pay to operating profit.

Samsung forecasts April-June revenue to increase 129% year over year to 171 trillion won. The preliminary results underscore insatiable demand for semiconductors and AI servers as massive investment in AI development and new data centers continues to benefit the world’s biggest chipmakers. Samsung will release a full financial statement around the end of the month.

Shares of Samsung, which has a broad portfolio of chips and consumer electronics, have underperformed rival SK Hynix’s, which is more focused on high-end memory geared for AI’s computation needs. Samsung shares are up around 150% this year, compared with SK Hynix’s roughly 250% gain.

MU, SNDK Stock Move, Retail View

In the U.S., the memory trade is set for disruption, with SK Hynix listing its shares on Nasdaq this Friday. Its share sale, targeting an over $28 billion raise, is currently underway.

While companies and analysts contend that memory demand would remain elevated for years to come, Micron and SanDisk stocks pulled back from record highs last week. Retail investors have continued to debate whether the dip is a buying opportunity or the start of a protracted downward trend.

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was ‘extremely bullish’ for SNDK, ‘bullish’ for MU and DRAM, and ‘bearish’ for WDC.

“$MU $DRAM $SNDK Memory momentum stalled till August. Hang tight,” a trader , while another , “$DRAM always buy the dip has always worked $SNDK $MU.”

Traders also expressed confusion over the stock reaction. “Do you guys know that Samsung had fallen 5 consecutive sessions into earnings? The expected positive news will drive all semis higher. Yet your dummies are selling,” a trader .

Year to date, MU shares are up 245% and SNDK shares are up 635%.