Memory Stocks Tumble on Apple-China Chip Concerns and Samsung Disappointment

Memory stocks plummeted on Monday as investors factored in concerns over Apple's potential use of Chinese memory chips and a disappointing capital-return announcement from Samsung.

The sell-off affected Micron Technology, which fell about 7%, while SK Hynix dropped roughly 5%. SanDisk declined around 9% and Seagate Technology and Western Digital each fell about 7%.

The concerns were sparked by reports that the Trump administration could allow Apple to source DRAM from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and NAND flash from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC).

KC Rajkumar of Lynx Equity Research argued that investors may be overestimating CXMT's ability to disrupt the market, citing poor yields and limited production capacity.