Micron stock falls as China’s CXMT steals chip spotlight
Micron and other memory names slid after CXMT’s Shanghai debut and reports of Chinese lithography progress rattled chip investors.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
3 min read
Micron stock falls were part of a broader selloff in memory and chip names Monday, as investors focused on a blockbuster Shanghai debut for China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies and signs that China’s chipmaking tools may be gaining ground.
MarketWatch reported that Micron shares were down 5% around noon Monday. Sandisk fell 11.4%, while U.S.-listed American depositary receipts of SK Hynix were down 8.5%.
The pressure came even as CXMT, the Hefei-based memory-chip maker, rocketed 466% in its first day of trading in Shanghai. LSEG data cited by MarketWatch showed CXMT with a market value of about $484 billion after the debut, making it China’s most valuable publicly listed company.
Why are Micron and other chip stocks falling?
Investors were weighing whether China’s memory-chip industry could become a tougher competitor. CXMT makes dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, chips and ranks fourth globally in that market behind SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron, according to MarketWatch.
DRAM is a core memory chip used to store data temporarily while devices and servers run tasks. High-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is a more advanced form used in artificial-intelligence systems, where data needs to move quickly between processors and memory.
CXMT has a major limitation, according to MarketWatch: it does not have access to ASML’s extreme-ultraviolet lithography technology, which is used to produce more advanced chips. That has held back its ability to make the lucrative HBM products that have benefited larger rivals.
A fresh report added another jolt. The Information reported Monday that China has started producing its own deep-ultraviolet lithography machines, a development that could help local chipmakers become more competitive. ASML, which sells both DUV and EUV lithography systems, saw its U.S.-listed shares fall more than 7% in midday trading, according to MarketWatch.
How CXMT is using the AI memory crunch
Richard Windsor, founder of research firm Radio Free Mobile, said the chase for HBM used in AI has helped create a wider shortage in DRAM. In his view, CXMT has found an opening while the biggest memory makers shift production toward higher-margin AI data-center chips and away from commodity DRAM used in consumer electronics.
Windsor said that gap is the one CXMT is filling. He also said he expects a sizable correction for CXMT once DRAM supply returns to normal, while adding that conditions could remain favorable for the company before then.
The memory scramble is also showing up in new partnerships. Nvidia said Friday that it and South Korea’s SK Group signed letters of intent for a more than $500 billion initiative to build AI factories with SK Telecom and to develop future AI memory, including HBM, with SK Hynix.
Broadcom said Saturday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung to expand work on advanced memory chips and foundry services, including advanced packaging for AI and networking chips. MarketWatch reported that the partnership is expected to be worth more than $200 billion through 2030.
Bernstein analyst Mark Li wrote that the Nvidia and Broadcom deals point to the need for those companies to lock down memory supply. He said consensus estimates call for $1.3 trillion in annual memory revenue in 2027 and 2028, and added that memory has become more important than logic chips for AI development.
Li also said the recent drop in memory stocks may offer a good entry point and that the announcements could help ease supply concerns for Nvidia and Broadcom. Nvidia shares were down 4.7% Monday, while Broadcom was slightly lower, according to MarketWatch.
This story draws on original reporting from MarketWatch.