Nvidia's shares surged 9% Thursday after doubling sales and projecting strong growth, lifting chipmakers and the broader market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.57%, whilst the S&P 500 gained 0.82%. Semiconductor companies now account for 37% of the S&P 500's $7.6 trillion market value gains this year, according to JonesTrading. Chipmakers like Micron Technology have soared 220% over the past year. However, Big Tech stocks have declined from recent peaks. Microsoft fell 6% since October, whilst Alphabet and Amazon remain below recent highs. Apple has dropped nearly 7% from this month's record. Analysts warn the market's heavy reliance on chip stocks presents risks. If semiconductor firms struggle, the broader market could face trouble, notes Capital Economics.

Micron Technology appointed two senior executives to accelerate growth amid rising AI-driven demand for memory chips. Manish Bhatia becomes president and chief operating officer, overseeing global operations, manufacturing, and customer demand. Scott DeBoer takes on president and chief technology and products officer, leading memory and storage technology development. Both appointments are effective immediately. Bhatia joined Micron in 2017, whilst DeBoer has been with the company since 1995. The moves position Micron to scale production as AI infrastructure spending increases. The company posted record third-quarter sales of $41.46 billion and expects $50 billion in the current quarter. Micron is shipping HBM4 memory in high volumes, with HBM4E production planned for 2027. Micron shares rose following the announcement.

Micron Technology's stock trades at $932.97, with options markets pricing extreme volatility ahead. Contracts expiring in thirteen months suggest two-in-three odds the shares will finish between $460 and $1,884 — roughly half to double the current price. The stock's implied volatility of 68.1% actually understates recent movement, which hit 81.7% realised volatility over the past year. Micron returned 694.1% over twelve months but has cooled recently, adding just 4.2% in the past three months. The volatility stems from memory pricing swings. Operating margin reached 65.7% on $90.27 billion revenue, against a three-year average of 11.2%. Management has signed 16 take-or-pay agreements to stabilise earnings, but these cover only about 20% of DRAM volume and a third of NAND volume, leaving most revenue exposed to commodity price cycles.