The Memory Stock Selloff Explained

Jul 29, 2026

South Korean memory stocks sold off despite strong earnings — bad for anyone caught in the leverage, but the underlying business is healthy.

  • Memory prices are at record highs, up 4x, and memory makers are printing money.
  • SK Hynix posted great results with over 83% margins and locked in 10 long-term memory contracts, which should smooth out its usual boom-and-bust swings.
  • The real cause of the selloff is South Korea's stock market, where memory grew to half of all stocks, propped up by borrowed money.
  • As traders started cutting back on leverage, panic selling kicked in and dragged the stocks down.

Outlook: This looks like a normal correction, not a business problem, so the drop is more about debt unwinding than weak fundamentals.

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