The SOXX semiconductor index has dropped roughly 25% from its recent highs, and leveraged semiconductor ETFs are down more than 60% from their peaks.1 The decline is hitting stocks even as underlying order books stay firm.
Amkor Technology posted record quarterly results, driven by continued AI-server packaging demand.1 The earnings strength runs directly counter to the stock-price move, underscoring the split between what chipmakers are booking and what investors are paying for those bookings.
Capital keeps flowing into the sector despite the sell-off. Skyworks and Qorvo confirmed the leadership team for their planned merger, with Bob Bruggeworth citing the partnership shaping their integration planning.2 Phil Brace's comments point to continued momentum behind U.S. chipmaking capacity build-out, which includes a federal CHIPS Act equity stake and an R&D award directed at GlobalFoundries.3
Mark Papermaster's remarks reflect the same capital-deployment trend playing out across AI compute infrastructure, as Nvidia continues funding ventures such as Safe Superintelligence.4 Éric Baissus, discussing Kalray's networking partnership with Bull, said the deal confirms demand for next-generation AI and high-performance-computing infrastructure and aims to build solutions for the next generation of AI networking.5
None of that capital commitment has stopped the stock correction. The gap between record earnings, government-backed manufacturing investment, and a 25% index decline suggests investors are repricing competitive risk — including new entrants from Chinese AI chipmakers — faster than actual demand data has shifted. Leadership transitions across the sector, including Apple's CEO succession and the Skyworks-Qorvo combination, add uncertainty on top of the valuation reset, even as the hardware order pipeline shows no sign of the slowdown the stock prices imply.
