Chips Rang The Bell 🔔

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The market drifted mixed Friday as chip strength kept the big-cap tape alive while small caps and health care sat out the party.

Nasdaq’s SK Hynix bonanza gave investors a fresh AI-memory lane and gave foreign companies another reason to eye U.S. listings. It was the largest first time listing by a foreign company in the U.S., pulling in $26.5B.

The euphoria replaced bearish looks throughout the week that had sent memory stocks lower. It also overshadowed the apparent end to the ceasefire in Iran, fresh bombings in the Strait reaching a third day. Energy still owned the weekly rotation, but Friday’s tape belonged to scarcity: scarce AI supply, scarce oil barrels, and apparently scarce patience for health care.

Stocktwits heat clustered around $META, $FBRX, $PYPL, and $PATH, with traders chasing AI strength, biotech momentum, and debating whether PayPal’s cheap-looking chart is value or a warning label.

Today’s Briefing:

• After the Bell: SK Hynix’s blockbuster U.S. debut opened a new AI-memory trade and put Nasdaq’s foreign-listings pitch back on offense

• Stocks: Delta beat Q2 estimates, but the fare-power story now has to outrun fuel costs and margin pressure

• Sector News: Energy and technology led the weekly rotation while health care faded into next week’s inflation and bank-earnings test

• Pops and Drops & More

AFTER THE BELL
Hynix Opens The Floodgates 🌊

SK Hynix, the South Korean memory-chip leader supplying Nvidia’s AI accelerators, pulled off the biggest U.S. debut ever by a foreign company Friday. The reception gave Nasdaq fresh ammunition to court more overseas IPOs and ADR listings.

The RIP: $SKHYV surged 12% from its $149 offer price on 92M shares of volume. SK Hynix sold 177.9M ADRs to raise $26.5B. $NVDA climbed 3.7%, $AMAT added 2.7%, and $SNDK rebounded 4.2%.

Friday’s $SKHYV ( ▲ 12.76% ) is the temporary, when-issued ticker. The same ADR switches to $SKHY for regular trading Monday, with each receipt representing one-tenth of a Seoul-listed share. The offering drew nearly $200B of demand and was more than seven times subscribed, giving the world’s largest high-bandwidth memory supplier a direct U.S. fundraising channel. SK is a key supplier to Nvidia, and Korean listed shares are up 634% in the past year.

CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said they expect memory chip shortages to keep pushing demand higher. Computer, car, and device markets will choke supply past 2030, he said. ❤️‍🔥 

Sandisk, the flash-storage specialist that became one of 2026’s hottest AI-memory proxies, entered the debut roughly 25% below recent highs after a 14% plunge on July 2 and another sectorwide selloff Tuesday. Friday’s rebound made the international bear market on memory look like nothing. Nasdaq President Nelson Griggs said the bonanza is already pushing more foreign companies to consider U.S. listings. 🧠

The $SKHY room is 93% bull on the debut, watch Monday’s handoff ->

Apple Turns On OpenAI 🔓

Apple sued OpenAI in federal court Friday, accusing the ChatGPT maker of stealing trade secrets to build its own hardware, a stunning break from the partnership that put ChatGPT inside Siri back in 2024.

The RIP: Apple’s suit names OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan, a former Apple VP, and ex-Apple employee Chang Liu as defendants. Apple is seeking damages and an injunction. $AAPL closed down $0.29.

The fight traces back to OpenAI’s $6.4B purchase of Jony Ive’s startup last year. Apple hasn’t said whether the lawsuit kills the ChatGPT-Siri integration, and the new Gemini-powered Siri launching this fall gives Apple less reason to keep it running. 🔓

Make your $AAPL case: legit theft or messy breakup →

SPONSORED BY Z SQUARED INC.
Z Squared to Acquire Paradox Data, Targeting Up to 150 MW of Firm Power

Z Squared, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZSQR) is a digital infrastructure company expanding into AI infrastructure. Listed on the Nasdaq Global Market in April 2026, the Company operates advanced computing equipment strategically distributed across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Iowa.

On June 25, Z Squared announced a binding letter of intent to acquire majority membership interest in Paradox Data LLC, a digital infrastructure company specializing in high-density, immersion-cooled compute. Paradox’s flagship asset is the Union County Campus in El Dorado, Arkansas — a next-generation data center site with approximately 8 MW of energized power and a development pathway targeting up to 150 MW of firm power. The transaction is structured entirely in Series D Convertible Preferred Stock with no cash and no debt financing. Z Squared was also officially added to the Russell 3000 and 2000 indexes June 26.

*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here. 

This is a paid advertisement and not investment advice. Z Squared, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZSQR) is a digital infrastructure company. This communication contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company’s business strategy and operations. Actual results may differ materially. Refer to the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at sec.gov, for risk factors and other important information. This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

STOCKS
Delta Keeps Fares Aloft ✈️

Delta Air Lines, the full-service carrier built around premium travel, beat second-quarter estimates Friday and reaffirmed its annual profit forecast. Shares still fell as investors focused on how much more Delta must charge passengers to rebuild margins.

The RIP: $DAL ( ▼ 1.81% ) slid 1.8%. Adjusted EPS of $1.56 beat $1.49, while $17.67B in adjusted revenue topped $17.55B. Adjusted fuel expense climbed 77% to $4.41B, pulling adjusted operating margin down to 8.8% from 13.3%.

Delta held its full-year adjusted EPS forecast at $6.50–$7.50 as CEO Ed Bastian said fares can stick after oil cools. Premium revenue rose 17% to $6.92B, topping main-cabin sales, but holders need Q3’s guided 11%–13% margin to prove pricing power is returning to profits. The top market share airline has to pass higher fuel prices along to customers. Bastian told CNBC he expects demand to stay high despite rising costs. 🎟️

The $DAL room is 57% bull on the beat, track the margin fight ->

SECTOR NEWS
🔄 Sector Rotation Watch

Money chased two kinds of scarcity this week: oil barrels and AI chips.

$XLE ( ▲ 0.47% )  Energy +3.5%: Crude climbed +4.3% after U.S. strikes on Iran and renewed trouble around the Strait of Hormuz. WTI slipped Friday, making $XOM the tell: if crude cannot hold near $72, energy’s geopolitical premium could disappear quickly.

$XLK ( ▲ 0.23% )  Technology +2.9%: Semiconductors reversed their late-June washout before SK Hynix’s blockbuster debut pulled $NVDA higher Friday. The $26.5B listing added investable AI supply without draining demand, suggesting investors still want more ways to own the infrastructure buildout.

$XLC ( ▲ 1.02% )  Communication Services +1.9%: Meta’s plan to monetize excess AI compute flipped from last week’s hardware scare into this week’s cash-flow opportunity. $META now has to prove leasing spare capacity improves returns instead of advertising that Big Tech overbuilt.

$XLV ( ▼ 0.82% )  Health Care -1.8%: Health care surrendered some of the previous week’s merger and Medicare-fueled surge. $LLY carries the next catalyst with 16 Alzheimer’s abstracts at AAIC from July 12–15, including long-term Kisunla data that could restore leadership.

$XLF ( ▲ 0.31% )  Financials +0.2%: Financials did almost nothing, and that’s the setup. $JPM, $BAC, $C, and $WFC report Tuesday after a quarter of higher energy bills, resilient card spending, and elevated rates. The reactions will reveal whether this week’s flat trade was patience or avoidance.

Watch into next week: June CPI lands Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. alongside big-bank earnings, followed by PPI Wednesday. Hot inflation favors energy and pressures expensive tech; a cooler print hands the leadership test back to chips and rate-sensitive groups.

TRENDING ON STOCKTWITS
Pops & Drops

• $NVDA ( ▲ 4.03% )  Nvidia ⚡: ripped +4% after China H200 approval and SK Hynix debut

• $NKE ( ▲ 3.72% )  Nike: climbed +4% after tariff refund inflated post earnings beat

• $OKLO ( ▼ 0.85% )  Oklo ⚡: fell -1% after dilution fears and criticality delay worries

• $LKNCY ( ▼ 0.9% )  Luckin Coffee ⚡: dipped -1% after stagnant OTC volume, relisting doubts

• $IREN ( ▼ 1.39% )  IREN ⚡: slid -2% after traders weighed hyperscaler deal speculation

• $INOD ( ▼ 2.0% )  Innodata ⚡: dropped -2% after institutional selling despite raised forecast

• $ONDS ( ▼ 5.1% )  Ondas ⚡: tumbled -5% after dilution fears clash with acquisition spree

• $CRWD ( ▼ 5.66% )  Crowdstrike ⚡: cratered -6% after profit taking post stock split rally

• $AXSM ( ▼ 6.09% )  Axsome ⚡: slid -6% after traders braced for Alzheimer’s drug FDA call

• $MRNA ( ▼ 10.83% )  Moderna: tanked -11% after JPMorgan slapped fresh Sell rating on

ST EDITOR’S PICKS
Links That Don’t Suck 🌐

🤑 These are America’s 10 most expensive states for 2026, where inflation is punishing residents

😨 Iran and US to continue talks, but ceasefire is ‘OVER,’ Trump says

🏠️ Housing affordability bill is about to become law, even after Trump refuses to sign it ‘in PROTEST’

📺️ SK Hynix’s Blockbuster IPO Could Spark Fresh Foreign Interest In US Listings, Nasdaq’s Nelson Griggs Says

Get In Touch 📬

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