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AI Valuation Doubts Spark Selloff; SOX Drops 7.9%

June 26, 2026 at 04:45 EDT

Infra & Chips
Funding & M&A

In late June 2026, skepticism over the lofty valuations of AI-related stocks triggered a global selloff, with the US Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) falling 7.9% and SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics each dropping more than 12%, as selling spread from Asia to the United States.

June 23–24, 2026 · AI Chip Markets

$1.3 Trillion Erased as AI Chip Fears Sweep From Korea to Wall Street

A sentiment-driven sell-off in AI semiconductor stocks began in Asia and spread worldwide, wiping roughly $1.3 trillion from the Nasdaq 100 in two days — with no product launch or earnings miss to blame, just deepening doubts over stretched AI valuations.

$1.3T

Wiped from Nasdaq 100 value in 2 days

-10%

KOSPI drop — its worst since March

-8%

Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)

-2.2%

Nasdaq Composite, June 24

Single-stock damage

Two-day moves at the height of the rout — taller column = bigger drop.

-12.7%

Micron

-12%+

SK Hynix

-12%+

Samsung

-5.8%

AMD

-3.3%

Nvidia

Two waves of fear

$500B

Nov 2025

$1.3T

Jun 2026

Market value erased by AI valuation jitters — the latest rout was over 2.5× larger.

What lit the fuse

Stretched AI valuations after years of GPU & HBM-driven gains
Soaring data-center costs vs. uncertain monetization
HBM shift squeezing legacy DRAM & NAND
Doubts over the durability of AI demand

No product launch or earnings miss — purely sentiment.

The skeptics

A healthy valuation correction — AI monetization isn't keeping pace with spending. The chip swoon may be a leading indicator of peaking demand and a test for the whole AI supply chain.

The believers

An overreaction. Long-term AI demand stays solid — HBM is sold out for years and HBM4 investment keeps expanding. Asian tech stocks soon rebounded, and a bounce was projected.

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