Chipmaker shares fell over the period on valuation concerns. Micron dropped 13%, equal to roughly $138 billion in market value, with Intel down 9% and AMD down 7%.
The fall is striking against the rest of the month's news. While memory grew scarce and expensive, and while AI companies signed gigawatt-scale capacity deals, the market began doubting the share prices of those who manufacture.
The doubt isn't about whether demand exists. It's about how long it holds at current levels, and how much of the share price already prices in years of growth that haven't happened.
There's a second element in the calculation, which appeared explicitly in other announcements from the period: part of stated demand depends on financing, including a manufacturer weighing a guarantee on its own customer's borrowing. Demand financed by the seller is demand the market discounts.
For equipment buyers, stock swings change little in the short term. Prices at the point of purchase are still set by physical scarcity, and that isn't resolved by investor sentiment.