Tech stocks today: Chip stocks lead tech higher, AI industry seeks to allay fears
The world will spend a staggering $1.3 trillion on semiconductors in 2026, marking the largest growth in two decades, market research company Gartner reported on Wednesday.
The figure shows a 64% year-over-year revenue increase for semiconductor companies, and it’s not just AI chips doing the heavy lifting.
According to Gartner, memory chips and networking capabilities will play a major role in the ongoing boom.
“Amid high demand for AI processing, data center networking and power, and memory price inflation (memflation), the semiconductor industry is projected to achieve a third consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2026 — a milestone that underscores the sector’s pivotal role in the AI technology stack,” Gartner senior principal analyst Rajeev Rajput said in a statement.
Memflation refers to the continuing price hikes on memory chips needed to power AI servers. Only a small number of companies make memory semiconductors, including Micron (MU), Samsung (005930.KS), and SK Hynix (000660.KS).
And because data center memory carries higher margins than consumer-grade memory, those companies are focusing on producing data center memory chips rather than those that slot into laptops or smartphones.