Analysis

Micron (MU) shares pulled back slightly after breaking above $1,000 and are currently hovering around $950. Bank of America believes artificial intelligence may have broken the memory boom-and-bust cycle, projecting long-term and massive earnings growth for Micron Technology. According to BofA's scenario model, Micron's revenue could reach $377.3 billion in fiscal year 2030, far exceeding the market consensus of $280.5 billion. On the profitability front, BofA expects its EPS to reach $236.16, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of up to 34.1%. The market's current valuation of Micron remains relatively conservative, standing at only about 6 times projected FY2027 earnings.

Eli Lilly’s Q2 revenue rose 48% to $22.97B as Mounjaro and Zepbound generated $14.87B. Guidance increased, while LLY tests record-high resistance.

AMZN Q2: Revenue $200.6B (+20%, beat), EPS $5.75 (massive beat on $1.81 est), AWS $42.2B (+37%), operating income +43%. Capex $220B, FCF negative. Stock $265, hit $3T market cap. Regulatory risk (NJ antitrust suit). Technical: $256-287 range, breakout needed.

TradingKey - AI cloud computing company CoreWeave (CRWV) announced on Thursday that it has signed a multi-year partnership agreement with Hudson River Trading (HRT), a globally renowned quantitative trading firm. Under the agreement, HRT will use CoreWeave's AI cloud platform to build next-generation research infrastructure for AI-driven quantitative research, complex model training, and trading strategy development. The specific contract value was not disclosed in the official announcement.

NFLX Q2: Revenue $12.56B (+13%), EPS $0.80 (beat), operating margin 33.4%, FCF $1.53B. Ads $3B 2026 target. Engagement 97B hours +2%. Stock down 36% from peak. Ackman's Pershing Square entered stake. $80 support key, $90-94 target. Oct 20 earnings next.

TradingKey - On Thursday (August 20) Eastern Time, futures on the three major U.S. stock indexes fell across the board in pre-market trading. While the U.S. Treasury's expansion of long-term bond buybacks temporarily eased bond market pressure, buying momentum has since cooled. Meanwhile, hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes and oil prices rising to a nearly four-week high limited further recovery in risk sentiment. Bitcoin breaking above $70,000 boosted crypto-related stocks in pre-market trading, helping Nasdaq futures show relative resilience.

TSLA Q2: Revenue $28.24B (+26%, beat), EPS $0.33 (MISS -35%), operating margin 1.4%, FCF -$1.09B. Capex +142% to $5.79B. Cybercab production begun. Robotaxi in 7 cities. $350 stock tests $338-376 recovery target. Capex concern persists.

Bitcoin surged toward $72,000, driving a broad rally in crypto-related stocks, with Strategy extending its gains by 10%.

TradingKey - Google is accelerating the expansion of its custom AI chip footprint, with Marvell (MRVL) becoming the latest beneficiary. On August 19, Marvell's stock surged more than 13% intraday and ultimately closed up 9.85%.

TradingKey - According to the latest supply chain reports, TSMC (TSM) has completed the development and verification of its 1.6nm-class A16 process, targeting the launch of mass production in the fourth quarter of 2026. This timeline is largely consistent with TSMC's previous official statement that "A16 will enter mass production in the second half of 2026," signaling that following 2nm, the company's next-generation advanced process technology is accelerating toward commercialization.

TradingKey - On August 20, Eastern Time, SK Hynix (SKHY), in collaboration with the University of Virginia, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and several other institutions, published a paper in the premier international journal *Nature Electronics*, systematically disclosing its Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) technology roadmap for the first time. Driven by the dual catalysts of the CPO roadmap release and a 40 trillion KRW (approximately $28.6 billion) share buyback plan, SK Hynix shares closed up 12.73% for the day at 1.691 million KRW.

TradingKey - Marvell stock rose after Google signed a custom AI chip agreement offering up to $120 billion in conditional revenue. Q2 earnings arrive August 27.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on August 20, the Nikkei 225 Index extended the overnight rebound sentiment from US equities. As of writing, the Nikkei 225 Index rose 1% to 65,982.27 points, snapping a two-day sharp decline. The TOPIX Index climbed in tandem by 0.9% to 4,048.71 points. Sentiment in the Tokyo market was buoyed by the US Department of the Treasury's announcement on the previous day to expand the buyback limit on long-term bonds.

TradingKey - Merck stock surged after its personalized mRNA cancer therapy met both Phase 3 melanoma endpoints. Strong Q2 sales and pipeline growth support MRK’s outlook.

TradingKey - The U.S. Treasury Department announced market intervention measures, and the three major U.S. stock indices reversed their three-day losing streak to close higher across the board.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced an increase in long-term bond buyback operations, sending bond yields lower and driving stock prices up. All three major stock indices gained, while AI hardware stocks extended their losses, led by declines in memory stocks. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22% to 53,463.05; the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.16% to 26,331.09; and the S&P 500 Index rose 0.21% to 7,707.98.

In July 2026, Nvidia maintained its position as the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization of $4.86 trillion. Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft followed closely behind, with all top five companies driven by AI-related businesses and cloud computing. However, capital did not continue to flow unilaterally into chip stocks in July: the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) dropped 20.61% in a single month, putting upstream names such as TSMC, SK Hynix, and Micron under visible pressure. This demonstrates that the market is shifting from "AI investment expansion" to scrutinizing returns on capital expenditure and the sustainability of supply chain profitability.

On August 19, Eastern Time, Broadcom (AVGO) fell for the fourth consecutive trading session, dropping near a key support level of $360. Meanwhile, Marvell Technology and Google today announced a custom chip partnership, issuing warrants to Google to purchase up to 58.97 million shares at an exercise price of $206.58 per share, representing a total value of approximately $12.18 billion. The two parties signed a commercial agreement on July 29 under which Marvell will supply custom chip products to Google, with the subsequent vesting of the warrants tied to revenue generated from the partnership products.

Micron stock fell 7% during a broader chip sell-off, but record earnings, HBM4 shipments and multiyear customer agreements support its AI-memory outlook.

On August 19 Eastern Time, Apple (AAPL) rose for the second consecutive trading day, with its stock price returning to near $315. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index extended its weakness, showing a renewed short-term divergence between Apple and the chip sector.