Memory chip and storage stocks staged a strong recovery on Thursday, with investors rushing back into the sector after a sharp selloff triggered by Samsung Electronics’ quarterly earnings earlier this week.
Micron Technology climbed more than 7%, while SanDisk SNDK gained about 7.5%.
Western Digital advanced over 7.2%, and Seagate Technology rose more than 6.5%, recovering a significant portion of the losses suffered during the broader semiconductor rout.
The rebound follows Samsung’s preliminary quarterly earnings that sparked profit-taking across global chip stocks despite the South Korean memory giant reporting stronger-than-expected results.
Samsung’s shares declined after the earnings announcement as investors locked in gains following the stock’s sharp rally, dragging semiconductor and AI-related stocks lower worldwide.
The selling pressure was particularly severe in South Korea, where the Kospi briefly slipped into technical bear-market territory on Wednesday, falling 22.8% from its June 22 peak.
Fresh industry data boosts sentiment after correction
Despite the recent volatility, market participants increasingly viewed the correction as a healthy pullback rather than a sign of deteriorating fundamentals for the AI memory industry.
Micron, for instance, had fallen about 32% from the record high it touched shortly after its earnings report in late June, making the stock attractive to investors looking to buy into the AI theme at lower valuations.
Fresh industry data also supported the recovery.
According to UBS’ July Memory Monthly report, global memory sales reached a record $74.6 billion, rising 31.7% month-on-month and outperforming the typical seasonal trend by 2.8 percentage points.
The strong demand has prompted both UBS and Bernstein to forecast meaningful increases in memory contract prices over the coming quarters, although the two firms differ on how long the current upcycle can be sustained.
Another positive signal for the sector came from reports that SK Hynix’s upcoming US listing has attracted overwhelming investor demand, suggesting institutional investors remain confident about the long-term outlook for AI memory suppliers despite recent share-price volatility.
Micron investment boosts confidence
Investor sentiment also received a boost after Micron announced plans to invest more than $250 billion in the United States through 2035 to expand memory manufacturing capacity.
The investment reflects growing confidence that demand for high-bandwidth memory and other advanced memory chips used in artificial intelligence servers will remain robust for years.
The latest commitment represents a substantial increase from the $200 billion investment plan Micron announced last year, which itself had already been revised upward from earlier estimates.
Meta report lifts SanDisk
SanDisk also benefited from a Reuters report that Meta Platforms plans to begin manufacturing an artificial intelligence chip from September as it expands computing capacity to support its AI ambitions.
According to the report, Meta has secured long-term supply agreements with several hardware vendors to support the expansion of its AI infrastructure.
The agreements reportedly include Samsung Electronics for memory chips, SanDisk for flash storage products, and Sumitomo Electric for fiber-optic equipment, underscoring continued investment by hyperscale technology companies in AI data centers.
The report reinforced expectations that enterprise spending on storage and memory products will remain elevated as companies race to build AI infrastructure.
Wall Street remains bullish on memory
Brokerages also continue to maintain an optimistic view of the memory sector despite the recent correction.
Bank of America recently reiterated its $1,550 price target on Micron, describing the company as its preferred memory stock.
The brokerage estimates that memory now accounts for 35% to 40% of cloud AI capital expenditure, roughly two to three times historical levels, while memory stocks continue to trade at less than 10 times forward earnings.
According to the firm, investors remain concerned about pricing sustainability, future supply additions and customer concentration.
However, it believes the market is underestimating the industry’s transition toward longer-term supply agreements and more predictable pricing.
As memory chips become increasingly critical to AI infrastructure rather than behaving like traditional commodity products, the brokerage expects sector valuations to improve over time.
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