Semiconductors slip even as Wall Street debates Micron spending plans
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Semiconductor stocks were modestly lower on Friday even as Wall Street said that Micron's (NASDAQ:MU) boost in capital spending for 2024 is a positive sign for the memory market but may not be for wafer fab equipment spending.
"We view the positive capex revision by Micron as a proof point that memory cycle spend has bottomed and expect memory equipment investments to grow next year depending on the rate of recovery of the memory prices and memory makersâ profitability levels," Citi analyst Atif Malik wrote in an investor note.
However, the investment firm said that even with the increase in spending, it still expects wafer fab equipment spending to be down year-over-year.
Micron (MU) shares rose more than 3% on Friday, while semiconductor equipment stocks such as Lam Research (LRCX), KLA Corp. (KLAC) and Applied Materials (AMAT) shares saw fractional gains.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares rose fractionally after the company said it had started high-production volume of extreme lithography at its plant in Ireland.
The EUV tools are produced by Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML (ASML) and cost roughly $150M apiece, with some roughly the size of a shipping container. ASML (ASML) shares gained 1.2%.
Allegro MicroSystems (NASDAQ:ALGM) and Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) were mixed as investment firm Bank of America started coverage on the integrated circuit companies.
AI-related semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were modestly higher on Friday as Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook said the company would boost its investment in the space and hire additional workers in the U.K.
"We're hiring in that area [artificial intelligence], yes, and so I do expect [investment] to increase," Cook said.
Conversely, stocks such as Broadcom (AVGO), Texas Instruments (TXN), Analog Devices (ADI) and ON Semiconductor (ON) fell on Friday as the broader market erased earlier gains despite a tamer inflation reading in August.

More on Micron, Intel and more

Intel: Threat To Margins Is Increasing
Micron's Recovery Will Likely Take More Time Than Investors Expect
Micron: Profitability Is Poised For A Spectacular Recovery
Intel rises, says high-volume production in Ireland has started
Micron boosting 2024 spending plans seen as bottom for memory cycle, Citi says