Technologies

Memory stocks are pressing their summer highs. Where the charts show them going

Todd Gordon looks through the charts on the DRAM ETF as well as the broader tech sector.

Between hot inflation prints, a Federal Reserve that’s suddenly back in play for a hike, and headlines of continued conflict in the Middle East, the market’s attention has been almost entirely on the macro side since June. The money that moved went into energy and the value-oriented corners of the market, and that rotation story has been well told. There’s been relatively little coverage of technology and as a result. The XLK ETF has been consolidating into a pattern that doesn’t suggest a top is forming, but rather a bullish consolidation that tells us to expect a breakout and potential market leadership once again. XLK has been carving a tightening range since the early July high and is now pressed right up against the downtrend line off those highs, around $190. The 50-day moving average at $182.74 has flattened and turned up underneath price, which is the sequence you want before a range resolves with a topside breakout. Further validating this analysis is the XLK/S & P 500 relative ratio in the lower panel has stopped making lower highs and starting to turn high suggesting we may see tech leadership into year-end. There’s been a lot of talk this summer about the great software comeback, and IGV has certainly outperformed. However, if you chart IGV relative to the semiconductor holders SMH , you’ll see the ratio has formed a symmetrical 34% pullback, which is almost exactly the same price distance of the June ’24 – May ’25 pullback. These kinds of price symmetry pullbacks happen more than you think and can often help identify an area of completion with a correction. The ratio is starting to bounce off that 34% symmetrical pullback against suggesting that memory and hardware may be ready to once again step into a leadership role. If you noticed this current 34% pullback happened in roughly one-half the time compared to the last one, you’re correct. I think the quicker duration of this summer washout further validates the outlook that it’s simply a correction to the longer-term trend. The leadership within the semiconductor industry is the memory space. The DRAM ETF that we’ve covered in this weekly column multiple times is pressing the top of its summer trading above $62, and both the DRAM/SPX and DRAM/SMH ratios have turned higher. That second one is the tell with memory showing relative strength against semiconductors themselves, which is usually where you find the group actually pulling the sector. Sandisk is the standout leader in the group. The stock has been caught in a range since mid-July working to breakout through around ~$1,900. I don’t yet hold SNDK in the TAG (Tactical Alpha Growth) model at Inside Edge, but do hold a 2% allocation DRAM as I’ve disclosed in this column before. I intend to start working into a SNDK position ahead of the breakout from resistance. Confirming this outlook are the two panels below price with the next 12 months earnings per share at $214.10 after a steady climb. Looking below, when you divide that EPS into the SNDK price of $1,783.51 you see a very cheap next twelve month PE ratio of 8.3x. The forward multiple has stopped compressing as the memory stocks have been considered a cyclical commodity with the demand likely to be satisfied once the initial buildout is complete and then the stock price should rollover. If investors begin treating memory as a durable and structural growth component of the AI buildout that will be over-supplied in the near future, the multiple is where the shift shows up first. And what you see is the forward multiple made a higher-low similar to last Feb, March, and April, which set up the massive rally from $500-$1500. The sell side is arriving at the same conclusion from the fundamental side. Susquehanna’s recent report have DRAM and NAND contract pricing running well ahead of prior expectations, and UBS lifted its 2027 blended HBM (high bandwidth memory) price growth forecast to roughly 79% year over year from 67%, with Micron’s leading-edge capacity reportedly sold out through end of this year. I’m watching Memory company’s management teams present at Citi’s Global TIM today and Goldman Sachs event tomorrow to see whether our view that memory’s earnings power is becoming structural rather than cyclical -Todd Gordon, Founder of Inside Edge Capital, LLC DISCLOSURES: Gordon owns DRAM personally and for clients of his wealth management company Inside Edge Capital, LLC. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.

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Technologies

‘South Park’ Renamed ‘South America,’ Apparently Reflecting Trump’s Geographic Name Changes

“South Park” has announced that it will be renamed “South America” as its 29th season approaches. The move appears to echo recent U.S. geographic name changes associated with Donald Trump.

The television comedy series “South Park” has revealed that it will be renamed “South America” as the show prepares to launch its 29th season on Sept. 16.

Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote, “Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA. We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.”

The statement followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order changing Lake Ontario to Lake America during a trade dispute with Canada. Canadian officials said they would not acknowledge the new name.

Apple and Google subsequently updated Lake Ontario in their map apps, with U.S. users seeing “Lake America” while Canadian users continued to see “Lake Ontario.”

The change also came one day after Trump shared AI-generated posts on Truth Social suggesting that New Mexico should be renamed “New America.”

Last year, the president signed an executive order changing the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, prompting international opposition.

“South Park” received an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for the “Sermon on the Mount” episode, which aired last year and satirized Trump’s presidency.

The “Skydance Capitulation” remark followed the $8 billion merger between parent company Paramount and Skydance, which was approved by the Federal Communications Commission last year after Paramount settled a lawsuit filed by Trump for $16 million.

Trump had claimed that an interview aired on CBS’s “60 Minutes” in 2024 with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris was deceptively edited.

Paramount subsidiary CBS News said in July 2025 that it was ending comedian Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” citing financial reasons, just days after Colbert accused Paramount of paying Trump a “big fat bribe.” The program’s final episode aired in May.

Paramount and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Technologies

U.S. Rejects Iranian Claims It Attacked Two American Vessels

The U.S. denied Iranian Revolutionary Guard claims that it attacked two American vessels, saying all IRGC attempts failed. The escalation pushed Brent crude to $100 a barrel as U.S. and Iranian forces continued exchanging strikes in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. has rejected an Iranian Revolutionary Guard claim that its forces attacked two American vessels.

The Guard had said it hit the ships, along with eight oil tankers in the Gulf, in retaliation for U.S. destruction of five Iranian tankers on Tuesday. It said the targeted vessels had tried to cross a section of the Hormuz Strait it had marked as ‘forbidden and unsafe,’ according to a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.

However, U.S. Central Command responded later on Wednesday, stating that no U.S. Navy warship had been hit and that every IRGC attack attempt had failed.

Centcom also said on X that U.S. forces had destroyed 10 Iranian tankers over the previous week, describing them as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that finances the IRGC and saying Iran could not protect them.

Brent crude reaches $100 per barrel

The conflict drove Brent crude up to $100 a barrel on Wednesday as the two sides exchanged strikes along one of the world’s most important oil routes.

According to Centcom, the U.S. strikes on Iranian crude oil tankers on Tuesday came after the Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at an American warship twice over the previous two days.

Centcom said the U.S. warship successfully avoided the Iranian attack and that no American personnel were injured.

U.S. forces attacked four tankers in the Gulf of Oman, Centcom said. The vessels were the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco. The military also struck the M/T Derya near Iran’s Kharg Island. Centcom said American forces ordered the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were hit and made inoperable.

The U.S. and Iran have exchanged further attacks in the Persian Gulf in recent days, reviving tensions in the region even as the Trump administration changes its approach toward economically pressing Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the U.S. sanctions late Tuesday on X, calling them a repetition of a strategy that had already failed. He wrote that after failing to reach its goals through sanctions or war, Washington’s latest ‘solution’ was simply more sanctions.

The U.S. military destroyed three Iranian tankers on Saturday in response to the Guard firing ballistic missiles at an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer. Centcom said those attacks also failed.

Earlier on Tuesday, Centcom said an unmanned submersible that Iran reportedly captured in the Strait of Hormuz was ‘defective’ and contained no sensitive data or classified equipment.

U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement shared by U.S. Central Command that an underwater drone operated by U.S. forces had malfunctioned more than a day earlier.

The drone had been surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations, Hawkins said, adding that U.S. operations in the area continued.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had earlier claimed on Tuesday that it had trapped and seized ‘one of the most modern, intelligent, unmanned submarines of the American terrorist army’ at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, according to a translated post from Iranian state news outlet Fars.

Fars later published videos and images that appeared to show the vessel out of the water.

But Hawkins’ statement argued that the drone was not a key piece of advanced military technology.

The captain’s statement said the defective drone was an older model that had not collected sensitive data or carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.

Iranian media described the submersible as a Dive-LD, an autonomous undersea vehicle developed by U.S. defense contractor Anduril. DefenseScoop reported in 2024 that the vehicles cost $2.5 million each.

An Anduril spokesperson said to Verum that the Dive-LD was an attritable autonomous system, designed from the start to operate in dangerous environments where losing the vehicle was a realistic possibility. The spokesperson said its role was to keep warfighters away from the most hazardous parts of undersea missions and added that the vehicle had delivered significant value through thousands of hours of operation during months-long CENTCOM missions.

The attention on the watercraft provides another example of the U.S. military’s growing reliance on autonomous technology in the Middle East conflict.

This summer, unmanned boat startup Saronic used one of its drone vessels to rescue crew members from a helicopter that went down in the Hormuz Strait. Saronic’s boats were later used in a strike against an Iranian submarine and ship facility.

— Verum’s Samantha Subin contributed to this report.

Technologies

Brent crude climbs above $101, finishing at highest point since May as Persian Gulf tensions rise

Brent crude rose above $101, its highest level since May, as U.S.-Iran tensions in the Persian Gulf drive record fuel prices and raise concerns over shipping disruptions. The escalation heightens the risk of oil prices climbing past $120 per barrel.

On Wednesday, crude oil surged over 3% as U.S.-Iran conflict intensifies in the Persian Gulf, sparking worries that energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz may be disrupted.

Brent futures

The U.S. forces disabled five Iranian crude oil tankers on Tuesday in response to alleged attacks on an American warship. The vessel avoided the assault and no crew members were injured, according to U.S. Central Command.