CNBC’s Jim Cramer warned Thursday that the semiconductor sector has morphed into a “casino of emotions,” pointing out that “insanely good TSMC numbers mean nothing” to a market suddenly fixated on the massive U.S. market debut of South Korean memory giant SK Hynix.
His comments followed a surprising drop in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) stock despite a blockbuster earnings report.
The SK Hynix ‘Casino’ Effect
According to Cramer, the irrational downward pressure on TSMC is deeply tied to the broader emotional volatility reshaping the chip sector following the U.S. listing of SK Hynix.
The memory-chip giant recently made its blockbuster Nasdaq debut—a massive offering expected to raise $29.4 billion.
However, the debut triggered intense volatility. SK Hynix stock plummeted 10.6%, dragging down peer companies and leveraged ETFs alike. Jake Behan, Direxion’s head of Capital Markets, told Benzinga that while the listing opens doors for U.S. investors, “periods surrounding major listings and new ADR launches can be particularly volatile“.
This sudden influx of capital and speculative trading products has temporarily overshadowed rock-solid industry fundamentals, perfectly capturing the “casino of emotions” currently driving the semiconductor landscape.
TSMC’s Record Q2 Earnings Ignored
TSMC delivered its fifth consecutive record quarterly profit, comfortably beating Wall Street expectations across the board. The chipmaker reported a second-quarter net income of NT$706.56 billion or $22 billion, representing a massive 77.4% surge from the previous year.
Revenue also climbed 36% year-over-year to NT$1.27 trillion or $39.45 billion. The robust results were heavily fueled by unrelenting demand from technology titans like Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
“The second quarter was supported by strong demand for our industry-leading process technologies,” stated Wendell Huang, TSMC’s Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer.
Despite this momentum and forecasting robust third-quarter revenues between $44.6 billion and $45.8 billion, TSMC’s stock slid 0.22% on Wednesday and fell another 3.76% in Thursday’s premarket trading.
How Have TSMC and SKHY Performed?
TSM shares were up 40.02% year-to-date, down 4.97% over the last month, and higher by 77.03% over the year. It closed 0.22% down at $419.48 per share on Wednesday, and it was 4.27% lower in premarket trading on Thursday.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSM maintains a weak price trend in the short term but a strong trend in the long and medium terms, with a solid growth score.
SKHY, on the other hand, was 3.80% higher since its listing on July 10. It declined by 9.00% to $176.46 apiece on Wednesday and it was down by 6.26% in premarket on Thursday.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SKHY maintains a weak price trend in the short, long and medium terms, with a solid growth score.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
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