Micron's stock is gaining. Here's why the semiconductor trade has sprung back to life.

MW Micron's stock is gaining. Here's why the semiconductor trade has sprung back to life.

By Britney Nguyen

Strong results from Seagate and NXP are boosting semiconductor-sector sentiment

Seagate's stock was up 14% on Wednesday.

Upbeat commentary from Seagate Technology Holdings and NXP Semiconductors is helping the semiconductor sector snap back.

Shares of analog-chip maker NXP $(NXPI)$ are up more than 23% on Wednesday morning, while storage maker Seagate's stock $(STX)$ is up more than 14%. Fellow memory and storage stocks also are getting major boosts, with Western Digital $(WDC)$ and Sandisk $(SNDK)$ up more than 10% and 8%, respectively, while Micron Technology $(MU)$ is up about 3%. Shares of ON Semiconductor $(ON)$, which also makes analog chips, are up more than 6%.

See more: Micron's stock has boomed on AI optimism. Now comes the 'tricky part.'

Both Seagate and NXP delivered strong beat-and-raise earnings results on Tuesday afternoon, reflecting their ability to seize upon artificial-intelligence data-center opportunities.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX is up 2% in Wednesday action, following two sessions of declines that had some on Wall Street worried that a prolonged contraction could be in store.

Seagate has been a beneficiary of AI-driven demand for storage products, and the "key story" behind its impressive quarter was the acceleration of price increases, UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri said in a Wednesday note. With demand far outstripping supply in the near term, memory and storage makers such as Seagate and Micron have been able to raise prices while remaining disciplined on capacity increases.

Arcuri sees those trends continuing, given that Seagate has purchase orders from customers looking to lock in revenue and pricing through the middle of next year.

Meanwhile, NXP had been "a noticeable underperformer" during the recent chip-sector rally. The company's breakout of data-center revenue for the first time "should help close the gap," Jefferies analyst Blayne Curtis said.

The chip maker is guiding for its data-center revenue to reach more than $500 million this year, driven by its industrial and Internet of Things segments and its communications-infrastructure business.

Although that will only account for about 4% of NXP's revenue - not enough to offset weakness in its auto segment - Curtis said in a Tuesday note that the "triple-digit growth" from where the data-center business stood in 2024 "is impressive and should help with the overall narrative for the business."

NXP's stock was on pace for its largest percentage increase on record on Wednesday, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock is up 44.7% so far this month, putting it on track for its best month since December 2010, the data showed.

-Britney Nguyen

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April 29, 2026 11:48 ET (15:48 GMT)

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