Why Lam Research Stock Dropped on Wednesday

The Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, ASML (ASML experiencing a dip of 8.43%), has cautioned investors that its sales growth could potentially stagnate in the year 2026. This unfavorable forecast isn’t just affecting ASML’s stock price; it’s also impacting its competitor, Lam Research (LRCX with a decrease of 1.42%).

As of 11:40 a.m. ET, ASML stock is down 11%, but Lam stock is down, too, by 3.6%.

Revolution interrupted?

It was widely anticipated that the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) would be beneficial for semiconductor stocks such as those of chip manufacturers like Nvidia, as well as companies that produce machines used to manufacture chips, such as ASML and Lam. However, in its recently published Q2 report, ASML revealed that its earnings experienced a modest growth of 1.7% compared to the previous year, and its sales increased by a slight 0.6%.

Unfortunately, the recorded net bookings for the quarter amounted to just 5.5 billion euros, significantly less than what is required to compensate for the losses from sales – this equates to only 71% of the quarter’s total sales. This suggests a potential deceleration in business activity.

It seems that the market demand for AI chips might not be as boundless as some investors anticipated. Alternatively, the impact of Trump’s regulations on exporting chip manufacturing equipment to China could be significantly reducing sales. Regardless of the cause, this development is likely to negatively affect ASML and possibly Lam Research too.

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Is Lam Research stock a sell?

The price of Lam Research stock, which currently stands at around 27.5 times its last year’s earnings of $4.7 billion, indicates that the semiconductor market growth may not experience a significant slowdown. However, if we consider its free cash flow (which is lower than its reported earnings), the price of Lam stock is more like 34 times that value, suggesting it might be overpriced.

Given projected growth rates by analysts, which suggest that Lam’s earnings will increase less than 17% per year for the following five years, if Lam experiences no growth at all next year, it could potentially signal a good time to consider selling the stock.

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2025-07-16 21:18