This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
AI memory and chip stocks fell Tuesday even after Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) projected a 19-fold jump in Q2 operating profit, as investors questioned whether the AI infrastructure boom has already priced in too much good news.
Samsung guided Q2 operating profit of 89.4 trillion won, or about $58.4 billion, up from 4.7 trillion won a year earlier and ahead of the LSEG SmartEstimate cited by Reuters. Revenue rose to 171 trillion won from 133.9 trillion won in the prior quarter, helped by strong AI memory demand.
The stock still dropped about 7% in Korea, while SK Hynix fell around 6% and the Kospi slid nearly 5%. Reuters quoted Petra Capital’s Albert Yong as saying Samsung’s earnings were widely expected and largely priced in after the stock’s rally.
The weakness spilled into U.S. names. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) fell nearly 5% premarket, Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) lost about 7%, Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) dropped nearly 6%, and Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) declined about 5%. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX), Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) also traded lower.