Why did memory stocks plunge again?

A market observer pointed out that SK Hynix’s post-Nasdaq listing price action last week epitomizes this 'gambling mentality': investors initially bought heavily after CEO Arvind Krishna stated that customer spending had shifted toward memory products, only to rapidly sell off amid concerns that SK Hynix’s capacity expansion plans would depress industry pricing. Resistance to DRAM Price Hikes Guangfa Hong Kong also noted that the DDR5 specification for standard servers is expected to be reduced by approximately 50% compared with previous versions. DRAM suppliers are rolling out new RDIMM and MRDIMM modules—offering 96GB or 64GB capacities—with MRDIMM poised to become the new mainstream specification. Moreover, according to Guangfa Hong Kong’s July 2 analysis, LPDDR5X capacity in NVIDIA’s VR200 NVL72 rack has been sharply cut; under an extreme scenario, it could fall to just one-quarter of the original specification—compressing LPDDR5X costs from a potential $1.2 million down to roughly $293,000. The firm also expects NVIDIA’s Vera CPU rack to adopt the 96GB SOCAMM solution, reducing total memory capacity from the spec-sheet figure of 1.5TB to 768GB, potentially delaying delivery timelines. NAND and HBM Emerge as New Points of Divergence Although DRAM prospects have turned cautious, Guangfa Hong Kong has grown markedly more optimistic about NAND flash. The firm notes that demand for KV cache offloading continues to exceed expectations, while a nascent trend of substituting costlier DRAM with NAND is gaining traction—both factors jointly supporting NAND demand. KeyBanc analyst John Vinh maintains a positive outlook on the overall memory market, forecasting NAND price increases of 30%–40% in Q3 and another 15% in Q4; HBM prices are expected to more than double next year. HBM is a critical memory component for AI processors, and Micron—among NVIDIA’s HBM suppliers for its AI chips—is deeply embedded in the AI hardware supply chain. Guangfa Hong Kong holds an optimistic view of SK Hynix’s Q2 earnings, projecting revenue of 85 trillion Korean won and a gross margin of 63%. SK Hynix ADR Premium Faces Narrowing Pressure SK Hynix’s ADR fell 9% to $176.46 on Wednesday, while its domestic Korean shares rose 8.8% on the same day—a clear divergence in performance. Following Tuesday’s 27% surge, SK Hynix’s ADR forward P/E ratio climbed to approximately 6.2x, nearing Micron’s valuation level—whereas the ADR’s prior discount to local shares had been a key reason for investor purchases. Currently, SK Hynix’s ADR premium over its Korean domestic shares has exceeded 50%.

Buying $10 billion in Google! Abel begins searching for his own 'Apple moment'.

After Warren Buffett stepped down, Berkshire Hathaway entered the 'Abel era.' Recently, Berkshire Hathaway released its Q2 2026 financial report. The data shows that Berkshire’s total revenue for Q2 reached $101.808 billion, up 10% year-on-year; operating profit stood at $12.983 billion, up 16% year-on-year; and net income attributable to shareholders surged 107% year-on-year to $25.667 billion. Looking at H1 performance overall, Berkshire achieved revenue of $209.955 billion, up 15.25% year-on-year; operating profit totaled $24.329 billion, up approximately 17% year-on-year; and net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $35.773 billion, up 110.76% year-on-year. Regarding the sharp net income growth, Berkshire stated that the high growth in reported earnings does not reflect a substantial improvement in the company’s underlying operational capabilities. This earnings surge was primarily driven by $16.077 billion in investment gains—including $15.644 billion in unrealized gains from equity holdings—combined with a low base effect from Kraft Heinz’s asset impairment in the prior-year period, resulting in a materially inflated GAAP net income with relatively limited reference value. Berkshire also emphasized that, after excluding volatility-driven distortions from equity markets, the company’s operating profit has remained steadily growing. By business segment, Berkshire’s Manufacturing, Services & Retailing segment performed strongly in Q2, generating $4.47 billion in operating profit—up approximately 24% year-on-year (vs. $3.601 billion in the prior-year quarter); the Railroads segment posted $1.558 billion in operating profit, up approximately 6% year-on-year; and Berkshire Hathaway Energy delivered $891 million in profit, up approximately 27% year-on-year. In contrast, the company’s core insurance business experienced a modest decline this quarter. Data shows that Berkshire’s insurance underwriting profit for Q2 was $1.731 billion, down 13% year-on-year; insurance investment income totaled $3.059 billion, down approximately 9% year-on-year. However, for capital markets, Berkshire’s overall earnings fluctuations are not the primary focus—the company’s latest investment moves are what truly command attention. From Berkshire’s H1 portfolio composition, its top five holdings are Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, American Express, and Alphabet—the parent company of Google. Notably, this marks Google’s first appearance among Berkshire’s top five holdings: the company purchased approximately $10 billion worth of Google shares during Q2. Regarding this major Google investment, Buffett publicly stated in an interview that he personally spearheaded and facilitated the decision—but also explicitly affirmed that Abel holds final decision-making authority over the company’s investment operations. On the rationale behind investing in Google, Buffett remarked that, judging from the company’s historical operating performance, Google’s probability of success in the AI domain is likely far higher than that of most AI projects promoted by Wall Street.