By Adam Clark
Micron Technology stock was gaining early Monday. Investors are watching for labor action at rival Samsung Electronics that could disrupt to memory-chip supplies and further boost prices.
Micron shares were up 1.3% in premarket trading after closing down 6.6% on Friday.
The stock is up more than sevenfold in the past 12 months amid an acute shortage of memory chips due to demand from artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Any stoppage at Samsung could make that crunch worse and benefit Micron.
Samsung's workers are demanding the company allocate 15% of its operating profit for bonuses and are threatening a general walkout from May 21 to June 7. A walkout could hit about 3% of global memory-chip production, according to Jefferies estimates.
Samsung management and union leaders resumed talks on Monday in a last-ditch effort to avoid a strike. Discussions are expected to continue through Tuesday.
South Korea's Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has warned that his government will pursue all options available to avoid a strike, noting a single day of suspended operations at the Samsung chip assembly lines could result in losses of up to 1 trillion won ($667.6 million).
A local court has ordered Samsung's union to maintain staffing levels required for safety during the proposed action but didn't ban the strike, according to Korean media.
Samsung shares rose 3.9% in local trading Monday.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 18, 2026 07:44 ET (11:44 GMT)
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