Semiconductor and Memory Chip Bull Market Cycle Still Ahead! Rare Leaders Unveiled, One Stock Surges 33% in 12 Days!

The opportunities presented by the times favor many, yet leave others behind. The accelerated bull market that began in early April has continued to climb amidst skepticism and the clash of bullish and bearish forces. Amid the frenzy of the bull market, many rushed in with a mindset of "better to act and be wrong than to miss out."

However, market trends can arrive swiftly and depart just as quickly. After reaching a minor peak on May 13th, indices, sectors, and individual stocks began to correct. Yet, looking back, one can see that in this globally synchronized major cycle of the technology bull market, every correction presents a new opportunity to enter at a lower price. Those who truly understand this bull market are not swayed by short-term fluctuations.

Before the profitable effects from stocks like Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China and others faded, the next wave of gains had already quietly begun. Collective surges in stocks such as Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China and others have pushed semiconductor and memory chip sentiment to new highs. This reflects both the interconnected and extended opportunities in AI hardware and a shift in the focus of capital logic. Following the optical communication sector, a new major cycle for semiconductors and memory chips is indeed approaching. So, how can one seize the opportunities of this new major trend? Who are the true core leaders?

From Transformation to the Screen-Dominating Wealth Effect of Ten-Baggers

The wealth-creation stories in the A-share market are clearly mapped in a single table. Rewinding a few years, the emergence of large models ignited market fervor. Since then, the interconnected and cascading effects among leaders across the AI application → computing power → optical communication (CPO) → memory chip → semiconductor industry chain have commenced. Doubling and ten-bagger stocks began their powerful rise from this starting point.

Previously, the market discussed stocks priced over 100 yuan more frequently. Now, such stocks are commonplace, and thousand-yuan stocks are beginning to appear sporadically. The growth of the A-share market has steadily raised the anchor point for price benchmarks.

Five years ago (May 14, 2021), there were fewer than 90 stocks priced over 100 yuan, with consumer and healthcare sectors dominating the top ten. On the eve of the "September 24th" rally in 2024, the number was even lower at just 30, with consumer and healthcare still leading the top ten.

A shift in industrial trends has completely reshuffled the ranks of high-priced A-shares. As of May 14, 2026, the number of stocks over 100 yuan is close to 300, with five exceeding 1,000 yuan. Among the top ten highest-priced stocks, nine belong to the AI hardware industry chain, aside from a leading baijiu producer.

A slight deviation in selection point leads to a vast difference in linear trajectories. Since the "September 24th" rally in 2024, stocks like Hongjing Technology have risen twenty-fold. Others, including Yuanjie Technology, Shenzhen Techwinsemi Technology Co.,Ltd., Jiguang Technology, Changguang Huaxin, and others have achieved ten-fold gains, sharply contrasting with the performance of baijiu and healthcare stocks.

The combined effect of era trends, industrial momentum, and solid fundamentals has made the wealth-creation effect of AI hardware technology astonishing. When the outline of a leader emerges, every step behind it leaves a trace.

Shenzhen Techwinsemi Technology Co.,Ltd., as a high-beta leader in memory chips, has consistently pushed its stock price higher. A year ago, its stock hovered around 80 yuan, a price point largely ignored by the market at the time. Stimulated by AI demand and memory price hikes, its stock price exploded in the third quarter of last year, rising from under 100 yuan to 300 yuan by November, a level many considered the peak. However, first-quarter earnings validation this year (net profit growth of 4943.4%) left the market speechless. Its current stock price has surpassed 700 yuan, ranking within the top ten in the entire market.

Shenzhen Techwinsemi Technology Co.,Ltd. belongs to the semiconductor industry chain, embodying the logic of optical communication, CPO, and memory chips. As evident from the table, semiconductor stocks (design, equipment, etc.) dominate the lists of high-priced and multi-baggers, such as Cambricon, Piotech Inc., Huafeng Test & Control, Jinhaitong, and others, though many have slightly underperformed compared to optical communication gains. On May 15th, semiconductor equipment stocks surged strongly, with Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China, Piotech Inc., and others briefly soaring over 10%, simultaneously hitting new highs.

Clearly, following optical communication, semiconductors are becoming the core theme for the next wave of alpha opportunities.

So, where are the core opportunities in semiconductors and memory chips next? Which opportunities are definitive? Who are the future true core leaders?

Upstream Semiconductor and Memory Chip Equipment Activity Propels Rare Leaders Like Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China Higher

The robust rise of the semiconductor industry chain mirrors the new expansion cycle driven by AI computing power demand. Computing power, optical communication, memory chips, and semiconductors are interlocking gears telling the same story and turning the same flywheel. Their联动 and溢价 have amplified market赚钱效应裂变式.

AI large model training requires massive GPUs. GPUs require HBM high-bandwidth memory (memory chips). GPUs require high-speed interconnection (optical communication). The entire industrial cluster points towards advanced process manufacturing (semiconductor equipment). They thrive or decline together.

As optical communication and CPO recently experienced high-level divergence, semiconductor equipment began to strongly fill the gap. This is not merely a simple capital migration but driven by a new round of industrial growth fueled by increased capital expenditures and equipment orders. On May 14th, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's upward revision of its 2030 global semiconductor market size forecast to $1.5 trillion serves as confirmation.

Semiconductor equipment, an upstream bottleneck and high-value segment, shows no sign of turning in this bull market cycle (cumulatively up over 3 times since September 24, 2024) and is still accelerating upward.

From lithography machines, etching machines, deposition machines to CMP, cleaning machines, and inspection machines, these冷冰冰的机械设备 hide many稀缺龙头 with inherent热度, many of which are quietly breaking out into new upward trends.

Lithography machines are the crown jewel of the entire产业链. Using light as a刻刀, they project circuit patterns onto光刻胶-coated silicon wafers through optical systems, achieving pattern transfer via photochemical reactions. Global lithography giant ASML Holding NV has vividly demonstrated capital market追捧 for顶尖半导体设备技术. In the recent decade-level bull cycle, ASML Holding NV's stock price has risen 18-fold, with its market cap surpassing $600 billion.

Unfortunately, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment, as China's leading front-end lithography machine manufacturer, is not listed. A-share lithography concepts mostly revolve around core subsystem directions, such as optical systems. Companies like Maolai Optics are being挖掘 by the market, with their stock prices accelerating recently.

Etching machines一层一层削去不需要的硅 until circuit轮廓从混沌中浮现. A-share etching machine companies are few, with Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China being a典型 example. Over the past 20+ years, it has developed a complete series of 20 types of plasma etching equipment and has布局 in advanced packaging (including HBM). On May 15th, amid market adjustments, its stock price一度 surged nearly 20% to a new high, having already risen 33% in 12 trading days.

Thin-film deposition has many细分种类—PECVD, ALD, LPCVD—晦涩 names all指向 the same goal: converting material sources into气相 and depositing them onto substrate surfaces to form固态薄膜. A-share thin-film deposition companies are also稀缺. Piotech Inc., mentioned earlier, is a典型 example, also逆市 hitting a new high on May 15th.

Other examples include Dinglong Co.,Ltd. in CMP; ACM Research Inc. in cleaning equipment (needed after every process step to eliminate纳米世界里的灰尘与金属离子); and Changchuan Technology in inspection equipment. Many have already entered major cycle-level行情.

Latest data from Korean Customs shows that as of May 10, 2026, DRAM颗粒单价 increased 497.4% year-over-year, and NAND flash increased 351.6%. Based on涨价 logic, Citigroup has raised SK Hynix's target price from 1.7 million won to 3.1 million won. The涨价周期 of memory chips highly resonates with semiconductor equipment, clearly reflected in the业绩兑现 of semiconductor equipment companies.

From AI, computing power, optical communication to semiconductors, alpha opportunities are the叠加 of risk溢价 and the变现 of认知差与人性差. Market trends arrive silently and depart without a trace. When the洪流掠过, you don't need the entire river, just your own share of the sweetness.

(Mentioned stocks are for illustrative analysis only and not investment recommendations.)