Shares of South Korean memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped by as much as 4.4% and 5%, respectively, during early Wednesday trading, mirroring a sweeping decline in U.S. semiconductor stocks driven by growing doubts about how long the artificial intelligence chip boom can last.
Overnight, major chip-related stocks took a significant hit on Wall Street. Intel closed down 9.7%, while AMD fell 6.5% and Micron dropped 4.7%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a key measure of the chip sector’s performance, also declined 4.7% as investors grew increasingly skeptical about the staying power of AI-related spending.
The wave of selling started after Samsung released its preliminary second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Although the company reported an estimated 19-fold increase in quarterly operating profit — largely fueled by strong demand for AI memory chips — the results still fell short of the high expectations investors had set. That disappointment sent Samsung’s stock tumbling, which then rippled out into a broader retreat from AI-related investments that eventually reached U.S. markets.
By early Wednesday morning, however, the situation had begun to stabilize. Samsung had trimmed its losses to a decline of about 2.3%, while SK Hynix had actually reversed course and edged up 0.2%. Both companies outperformed South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index, which was still down 1.4% at that point.
