SK Hynix surges 25%, Samsung jumps 20% as AI spending fears evaporate overnight
Blowout cloud results from Amazon and Microsoft sent Asian chip stocks soaring on Friday, wiping out a week of losses driven by fears that AI investment was running ahead of reality.
Key points
- SK Hynix rose more than 25% on Friday in Seoul, on course for its best single-day gain on record if the move holds.
- Samsung Electronics climbed over 20% the same day, joining a broad Asian chip-stock rally.
- Microsoft shares gained 16% on Thursday after its Azure cloud division, the part of Microsoft that rents computing power to businesses, grew faster than analysts predicted.
- Amazon jumped more than 9% in after-hours trading after its cloud business also beat expectations.
- The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), a fund that tracks US chip companies, surged more than 8% overnight.
Two earnings reports changed everything. Strong quarterly results from Microsoft and Amazon told investors that billions of dollars flowing into AI infrastructure weren't slowing down. Asian chip stocks, battered all week, whipped sharply higher in response.
SK Hynix, the South Korean memory-chip maker whose products sit inside AI servers, led the charge with a gain of more than 25%. Samsung Electronics added over 20%. LG Innotek and Seoul Semiconductor rose 11.2% and 7.8% respectively. Friday's move is a direct reversal of what we reported on [28 July](/ story/ai-chip-stocks-tumble-as-investors-worry-about-the-cost-of-the-ai-boom), when Samsung and SK Hynix each lost more than 10% in a single day.
What sparked the reversal?
Microsoft reported faster-than-expected Azure growth, and its shares climbed 16% during Thursday's regular session. Amazon then reported second-quarter revenue above analyst forecasts, driven by AWS, sending its stock up more than 9% in extended trading.
The numbers mattered because chip companies like SK Hynix and Samsung sell directly into the data centres that power cloud services. Healthy cloud spending signals healthy chip demand.
Andrew Jackson, head of equity strategy at Ortus Advisors, wrote in a note on Friday that Microsoft's results "sparked a huge rebound for risk-on and AI." Investors had worried about companies throwing money at AI without discipline. Microsoft's management keeping capital spending "in check" reassured the market, Jackson said, noting that a "'spend at all costs' mentality has been punished."
Why had chip stocks fallen in the first place?
The preceding week was rough. Investors grew anxious about AI valuations having risen too far and about Chinese memory-chip makers catching up fast enough to squeeze prices at Hynix and Samsung. Friday's bounce didn't erase those concerns. It gave investors a fresh data point suggesting AI data-centre demand remains strong enough to keep chipmakers busy.
What does this mean for ordinary people?
If you own shares in a global tech fund or a pension that includes tech stocks, you felt this week's swings in both directions. For anyone using cloud-based software at work or at home, the broader story is simpler: the world's biggest technology companies are still spending heavily to keep AI services running.
Japanese chip stocks joined the rally too. Advantest climbed nearly 18%, Disco rose over 13%, Lasertec advanced more than 12%, Renesas Electronics added over 10%, and Tokyo Electron gained almost 9%. SoftBank Group, whose ownership of chip-design firm Arm makes it a closely watched AI bellwether, jumped more than 9%.
CNBC Tech first reported the scale of the individual stock moves.
| Stock | Friday gain | Market |
|---|---|---|
| SK Hynix | +25%+ | Seoul |
| Samsung Electronics | +20%+ | Seoul |
| Advantest | +~18% | Tokyo |
| Disco | +13%+ | Tokyo |
| Lasertec | +12%+ | Tokyo |
Common questions
Why do Asian chip stocks react so strongly to US cloud earnings?
Amazon and Microsoft are among the biggest buyers of the memory chips and specialist processors that South Korean and Japanese firms make. When their cloud businesses grow faster than expected, investors assume chip orders will follow.
Is this rally a sign that AI investment is safe and sound?
It's a sign that two of the largest cloud companies are still growing their AI infrastructure spending, not a resolution of broader questions about whether AI services will generate enough revenue to justify total industry investment. What I'd watch next is whether the capex discipline Jackson flagged holds through the next earnings cycle, or whether one bad quarter brings the sell-off straight back.
