U.S. chip stocks rose sharply in early premarket trading on Thursday, tracking gains in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics in South Korea.
Samsung’s preliminary quarterly results earlier this week triggered a broad selloff in chip and AI-linked stocks worldwide. Despite reporting upbeat numbers, Samsung shares fell as investors appeared to lock in profits following the stock’s red-hot rally. The same profit-taking trend spilled over into the U.S. semiconductors.
Micron, Western Digital and Intel shares rose around 3.5% each in the premarket session, while Advanced Micro Devices Stock rose 2.2%. Shares of SK Hynix closed 5.3% higher in Seoul earlier, while Samsung gained 0.8%.
That helped Korea’s Kospi close 0.6% higher on Thursday, after three consecutive sessions in the red. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which counts Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron as its top three holdings, was up 1.2%.
The surge is a sign of confidence, particularly in the memory sector, allaying concerns in some quarters that the stocks had peaked.
Samsung Q2 Recap
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.
Retail View On Chip Stocks
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for MU and DRAM and ‘bearish’ for INTC and AMD.
“INTC Glad I was able to add during the dip today. This is looking really positive for a push to $150 and beyond,” a trader .
Another user on the Micron stream: “As expected Micron is beginning its climb back to all-time highs. Expect a couple of 10% pops in the next two weeks. Still comfortable with the $1,400-$1,500 price level by mid-August."