Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTPete GannonTue, July 7, 2026 at 10:29 PM GMT+2 2 min readIllustration: Tiffany Herring/AxiosChip stocks were hammered again Tuesday, despite some reassuring news from a major player, extending their recent slide into a second week.The big picture: Investors continue to question the sustainability of the AI spending cycle that has fueled record profits for chipmakers and sent stock valuations soaring.Driving the news: Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker, reported explosive revenue growth and expectations for a huge jump in second-quarter operating profit earlier Tuesday in South Korea, but its shares immediately fell.Between the lines: Why was good news for Samsung bad news for the sector?Zavier Wong, a market analyst at eToro, cited "concerns that AI infrastructure spending can't keep growing at the pace that has been driving memory prices," per CNBC.Tickmill Group analyst Patrick Munnelly, as reported by the WSJ, pointed to the market reaction to Samsung's strong report that chip stocks are "priced for perfection."Zoom out: The pain wasn't confined to the memory space. Intel closed down 9.7% Tuesday, while Marvell Technology slid 7.5%.The iShares Semiconductor ETF, a broad gauge of the semiconductor sector, finished the day down over 5%, and is now down 15% since the end of June.Context: Chipmakers are still sitting on huge gains. Micron is up nearly 230% since the start of the year, while Intel is nearly 200%. The iShares index, known by its ticker SOXX, is up over 80% year to date.And South Korea's SK Hynix, the world's No. 2 memory chipmaker, is preparing a $28 billion listing of ADRs in the U.S., with the deal reportedly being "multiple times oversubscribed" ahead of pricing on Thursday, per Bloomberg.Yes, but: For a sector priced for perfection, even good news is no longer always good enough.AI is moving fast. Axios AI+ keeps you ahead. Sign up free at Axios.com.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info