Chip stocks shed more than $1 trillion as selloff hits companies powering AI boom
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- 20 chip stocks lost a combined $1.3 trillion in market value since Friday's close, per CNBC's FactSet analysis, with the selloff sweeping Nvidia, memory makers, and Asian chip names
- Nvidia led the rout with a $238 billion market-cap wipeout; SK Hynix lost $176 billion, Samsung Electronics $173 billion, and Micron $113 billion
- AMD shed approximately $110 billion and TSMC lost $119 billion, extending the selloff beyond pure memory plays
- SK Hynix closed 9.61% lower on Wednesday despite posting record quarterly profit and revenue, having missed analyst estimates
- Japanese and Korean chip names extended losses — Kioxia fell 13.85%, Tokyo Electron 10.59%, and SoftBank Group 6.95%, while the SOX index remains up 92% over twelve months despite a nearly 20% one-month drop
- Chinese internet stocks bucked the regional weakness — Tencent rose 4.29% and Meituan 2.05%, and the mainland ChiNext 300 index gained 1.43%, showing the selloff is sector-specific, not broad tech contagion
- Analysts framed the pullback as healthy: Aberdeen Investments called valuations 'more attractive' and cited 'the ongoing deleveraging process in Korea,' while Riedel Research Group said investors are 'giving back a little bit of the froth that was in the AI market'
Why it matters: The $1.3 trillion pullback — even after a 92% twelve-month gain — is amplified by what Aberdeen flagged as 'the ongoing deleveraging process in Korea,' meaning forced selling may persist beyond fundamental reassessment. With SK Hynix posting record profits yet still falling 9.61%, the action reflects leveraged positioning unwinds more than deteriorating chip demand.
