Chip stocks plunge despite record profits as AI spending fears grow

Tech stocks experienced a significant selloff on Tuesday, with chip makers leading the decline despite reporting strong financial results. SK Hynix, the South Korean memory chip giant, closed down 9.61% after announcing a record quarterly profit; rival chip companies also registered sharp losses. This pattern—falling share prices paired with supercharged earnings—points to a shift in investor focus beyond near-term profitability toward longer-term questions about spending sustainability.

Alphabet became the focal point of investor concern despite positive operational metrics. The company's cloud revenue surged 82%, a closely watched indicator of AI business strength, yet its shares slumped the previous week. Market anxiety centered on Alphabet's $205 billion（約33兆円） capital expenditure budget for the year, with investors questioning whether such massive infrastructure and chip spending can be justified or sustained profitably. One analyst characterized the broader selloff as a "correction to a little bit of the [AI] froth," acknowledging speculative excess, but acknowledged it may also reflect deeper structural fears about whether tech giants have committed too aggressively to AI capex without clear paths to proportional returns.

The tech market's behavior revealed a sharp bifurcation. While AI-focused and heavy-spending companies faced pressure, Apple moved in the opposite direction, briefly becoming only the second company ever to reach a $5 trillion（約800兆円） market valuation on Tuesday. Apple's strength stems partly from its deliberate distance from the AI spending arms race—the company has largely avoided the massive capital commitments dominating rivals' strategies. This divergence suggests investors are now actively discriminating between tech companies based on their approach to AI investment, rewarding capital discipline over aggressive buildout.

The tech market is experiencing a sharp reversal despite blockbuster earnings from chip makers, revealing a fundamental shift in investor sentiment around artificial intelligence spending. SK Hynix's 9.61% drop following record quarterly profit suggests that strong operational performance no longer guarantees share price strength—the market has shifted focus to sustainability of capital allocation. Alphabet exemplifies this tension: an 82% increase in cloud revenue, a core AI business metric, failed to prevent stock losses because investors are troubled by the company's $205 billion（約33兆円） capital expenditure commitment for the year.

This divergence appears to reflect what analysts describe as a "correction to a little bit of the [AI] froth," but may signal deeper structural concerns about whether the scale of AI investment across the tech industry remains justified. The sharp contrast with Apple's rise to near-$5 trillion（約800兆円） status is telling: investors are now rewarding the company that has deliberately sidestepped the AI spending race, suggesting the market may be recalibrating its view of where value lies—not in aggressive AI buildout, but in capital discipline and profitable growth.