A Sharp Pullback in Chip Stocks Meets Fresh Records in Four of Five Recent Earnings Reports

NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2026 /CNW/ -- Market Updates News Commentary - Semiconductor stocks are taking the brunt of a lower market this morning. As of 10:18 a.m. ET, the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) was down 826.18 points, or 8.05%, at 9,442.47, a steeper decline than the Nasdaq Composite (down 3.74%) or the S&P 500 (down 2.21%). Even after today's move, the index stood about 33% above where it finished 2025, based on daily closing prices, and the quarterly reports published over the past two weeks by the five chip and data storage companies below all show revenue higher than a year earlier. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD), Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM), ON Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: ON), Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX), Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM).

The selling reached well beyond chips. As of 10:18 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 was at 7,518.71, down 169.91 points, and the Nasdaq Composite was at 24,774.61, down 961.90 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 658.12 points, or 1.23%, at 52,698.00, and the small cap Russell 2000 was down 1.74% at 2,807.10. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 4.868%, compared with 4.894% at the prior close.

A single session is one data point, and the longer record gives it some scale. Based on daily closing prices, the SOX finished 2025 at 7,083.13 and closed at 7,190.27 one year ago today, which leaves this morning's level roughly 33% above the year-end mark and about 31% above where it stood a year ago. The index was already working through a pullback before today: its highest close of the past 52 weeks was 14,634.72 on June 22, 2026, and this morning's level sits about 35% below that peak. The broader market has held up better on a year-to-date basis, with the S&P 500 about 10% above its 2025 closing level and the Nasdaq Composite about 7% above its own.

Share prices can reprice a company in minutes. Quarterly results move more slowly, and this earnings season has given investors a detailed, company-by-company read on what is happening underneath the ticker symbols, from data center processors and chip designs to power semiconductors, mass storage and specialty foundry services.

Days like this one are a good reminder that the story and the chart are two different things, and it helps to know how to read both. Our sister site, Stock Preachers, offers a free 27-page guide, Knowledge is Power, that teaches those two skills in plain English across 10 chapters, from support, resistance and trendlines to the indicators that matter, chart patterns, reading the news, and risk and a trading plan.

Data center demand runs through the latest numbers

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) reported its third quarter 2026 results on November 3, with revenue of $13.4 billion, up 45% year-over-year. Data Center segment revenue was a record $8.5 billion, up 97% year-over-year, which the company said was driven by strong demand for AMD EPYC processors and the launch of AMD Instinct MI450 Series GPUs. For the fourth quarter of 2026, AMD said it expects revenue of approximately $17 billion, plus or minus 3%. AMD shares were down 13.44% as of 10:18 a.m. ET.

"We delivered a record quarter with revenue exceeding the high end of our guidance as Data Center segment sales nearly doubled year-over-year," said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD chair and CEO.

Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) published its second quarter fiscal year 2027 shareholder letter on November 4. Total revenue increased 27% year-over-year to $1,443 million, which Arm described as its best ever second-quarter revenue. License and other revenue grew 50% to $773 million and royalty revenue grew 8% to $670 million, with data center royalties doubling year over year. Arm also said its partners reported more than 10 billion Arm-based chips shipped during the quarter for the first time, and gave third quarter fiscal year 2027 revenue guidance of $1.54 billion, plus or minus $50 million. Arm shares were down 12.14% as of 10:18 a.m. ET.

"Arm delivered its fifth consecutive quarter of revenue growth above 20%, reflecting the strength of our business as AI drives increasing demand for compute," said Rene Haas, CEO of Arm, in the letter.

Power, storage and specialty foundry tell a similar story

ON Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: ON), known as onsemi, reported third quarter 2026 revenue of $1,722 million on November 2, an increase of 11% year-over-year, along with free cash flow of $489 million, up 31% year-over-year. The company said AI data center revenue grew 39% sequentially and 175% year-over-year, and it guided fourth quarter revenue to a range of $1,715 million to $1,815 million. onsemi shares were down 6.27% as of 10:18 a.m. ET.

"Increasing power requirements are driving accelerated demand in our AI data center and industrial end markets, as customers adopt and ramp our differentiated products," said Hassane El-Khoury, President and CEO of onsemi.

Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX), which describes itself as a leading innovator of mass-capacity data storage, reported fiscal first quarter 2027 results on October 28. Revenue was $4,233 million, compared with $2,629 million in the same quarter a year earlier, with a GAAP gross margin of 57.3% and free cash flow of $1.5 billion. Seagate also increased its quarterly cash dividend by approximately 3% to $0.76 per share and guided fiscal second quarter revenue to $4.8 billion, plus or minus $100 million. Seagate shares were down 13.22% as of 10:18 a.m. ET.

"Seagate delivered another quarter of record profitability and our highest ever free cash flow in the September quarter, demonstrating the earnings power of our business amid a strengthening demand environment," said Dave Mosley, Seagate's chair and chief executive officer.

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), a foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, reported record third quarter revenue of $526 million on November 2, representing growth of 33% year over year, along with record gross profit of $179 million. Tower guided fourth quarter revenue to $600 million, with an upward or downward range of 5%, and said the midpoint represents an increase of 36% year-over-year. Tower shares were down 8.57% as of 10:18 a.m. ET.

"We are entering the strongest growth phase in our history, according to fourth quarter guidance, closing the year at $2 billion annual revenue and a $2.4 billion annualized revenue run rate," said Russell Ellwanger, Chief Executive Officer of Tower Semiconductor.

Keeping one session in context

All five of these reports were published before today's session, so none of them addresses this morning's move. What they do provide is a record, in each company's own numbers, of its latest quarter's revenue and margins and its outlook for the quarter ahead, which readers can set alongside the daily moves in the index.

For readers who want a framework for both sides of that picture, the free Knowledge is Power guide from Stock Preachers is available to Market Updates readers, along with The Roadmap every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at market-updates.com/

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