New York, Feb 23, 2026, 12:47 PM EST — Regular session
- Lam Research shares fell about 2.5% in midday trade, underperforming the broader chip group
- Tech stocks led a wider market pullback as fresh U.S. tariff uncertainty returned to the fore
- Traders are watching Washington’s next trade moves and Nvidia’s results this week for read-throughs on AI-linked spending
Lam Research Corp (LRCX.O) shares fell 2.5% to $238.83 in midday trading on Monday, after earlier touching $249.29 and sliding as low as $238.35. Applied Materials (AMAT.O) and KLA Corp (KLAC.O) were also lower, while semiconductor ETFs eased with the broader market.
The drop came as Wall Street’s tech-heavy pockets pulled back on renewed tariff uncertainty after President Donald Trump announced a new 15% duty following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down most of his previous levies. “The market is just experiencing some profit-taking as traders realize that the relief rally from Friday may be premature,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC. (Reuters)
Why it matters for Lam now: the company sells wafer fabrication equipment — the high-ticket tools chipmakers use to build semiconductors — and its outlook is tightly tied to customer capital spending plans. When trade policy shifts quickly, it can cloud what chipmakers order, where they build, and how fast they spend.
Lam’s move was sharper than the broader chip ETFs, a reminder that equipment names can trade like a levered bet on the next spending cycle rather than today’s chip shipments. The group also sits close to the center of any trade fight because its supply chain and customers are global.
Some investors have been looking for evidence that heavy AI investment is translating into sustained orders across the chip stack — not just a handful of headline winners. That makes this week’s major tech earnings, including Nvidia’s report, a market-wide tone-setter for risk appetite.
For Lam specifically, traders tend to focus on two data points: order momentum (bookings) and management commentary on wafer-fab spending, especially in memory and advanced logic. Those signals often drive the stock more than day-to-day chip pricing.
A risk case hangs over the stock: policy-driven shocks can arrive faster than factories can adjust. Lam has flagged tariffs, export controls and other trade restrictions as potential headwinds, alongside supply-chain costs and broader demand swings. (Lamresearch)
Looking ahead, Lam has said Chief Financial Officer Doug Bettinger is scheduled to speak at the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference on March 3 and the Cantor Global Technology & Industrial Growth Conference on March 11, with webcasts available. The company’s next dividend is set for April 8 for shareholders of record as of March 4. (Lamresearch)
