Catenaa, Thursday, October 22, 2026- Semiconductor stocks fell on Thursday after wafer equipment maker Lam Research said that it sees near-term supply chain constraints.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 4% as investors worried these constraints could hurt chip sales; global chip leaders such as Nvidia and Qualcomm fell more than 2%, while Marvell and Intel fell 4% and 5%, respectively.
Memory chip stocks such as Micron and SanDisk were also down more than 3% and 4%, respectively.
According to Yahoo Finance, Lam Research CFO Doug Bettinger said the quarterly revenue guidance of $8.6 billion “would have been a bit higher if not for some near-term supply chain constraints,” which the company is actively managing.
Lam Research stock fell more than 10% on Thursday, while other equipment makers Applied Materials and ASML fell 6% and 3%, respectively.
Wall Street analysts said Lam’s December-quarter forecast fell short of expectations despite strong demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Bank of America attributed the outlook’s weakness in part to supply constraints, while Needham raised concerns about the pace of growth. Morgan Stanley viewed the guidance as a setback that could lead investors to reassess their expectations for equipment manufacturers.
Citi analyst Atif Malik remained positive on Lam’s competitive position in the wafer fabrication equipment market for 2027, but reduced his valuation target amid lower sector multiples.
Reuters reported that renewed stock jitters sent the CBOE Volatility Index up 17.99 points after three straight sessions of declines.
Investor concerns extended beyond semiconductor manufacturing equipment. AP reported that doubts over the scale of AI infrastructure spending, the timing of financial returns, and rising borrowing costs weighed on technology shares.
Meanwhile, oil prices also climbed on Thursday, with Brent Crude crossing $112 per barrel, as analysts flagged worries that fighting between the US and Iran could flare up again in the coming weeks, possibly threatening Middle Eastern oil supplies.
Partially driving these fears was a New York Times report that the US and Israel have drawn up plans for renewed strikes against Iran after the US midterm elections in November, targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile arsenal.
