AI trade gets its momentum back

US memory stocks are getting slammed on Tuesday after South Korean policymaker Kim Yong-beom suggested that citizens should get a “national dividend” funded by AI profits.

Now, those remarks have since been watered down: South Korea’s “Blue House” (or presidential office) said these remarks reflected the official’s personal views. Kim later indicated that his suggestion referred to excess tax revenues from leading chip giants, rather than any new windfall tax.

The KOSPI Index, and top weights Samsung and SK Hynix, finished off their lows after this clarification, but the damage still spread stateside.

Are Micron, Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate Technology Holdings South Korean companies?

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No, they are not.

But they are memory stocks, and this seems to have been enough of a catalyst to throw a wrench into the skyward trend for the cohort.

Along with being highly correlated by the nature of their businesses, US memory stocks also recently started to trade in the same vehicle as their South Korean counterparts. The Roundhill Memory ETF — the fastest ever to surpass $6 billion in assets, per Bloomberg Intelligence — holds all of these companies within the same wrapper.

The near parabolic run in these stocks had raised the risk that this group could reverse course for any reason — or no reason whatsoever. (Remember Google’s TurboQuant? I don’t.)

T1 Energy shares are whipsawing in early trading after the solar equipment maker reported its Q1 financial results today, posting a quarterly loss far smaller than feared.

Key numbers:

• Loss per share: $0.08 (estimate: $0.18).

• Revenue: $177.65 million.

• Operating expenses: $51.6 million.

• Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash: $123.7 million.

Shares were up nearly double digits in premarket trading, but have since proceeded to dip into the red.

Management highlighted the operational ramp-up at its G1_Dallas facility and continued progress on its flagship G2_Austin solar cell plant. The company is targeting a larger financing solution, which includes a significant debt component, to fund its capex needs for Phase 1 of G2_Austin.

Following a successful $160 million convertible note offering in April, the company said it has reduced its remaining Phase 1 funding requirement to approximately $225 million.

“Our team made excellent progress during the first quarter to advance our top priorities,” said Dan Barcelo, CEO and chairman of T1 Energy. “As we look ahead, we are focused on hitting key construction milestones, targeting a comprehensive financing package for G2_Austin in the second quarter, building our offtake coverage through our developer customer base, and driving profitability as T1 grows.”

Shares of Quantum Computing are mooning in early trading after the company posted better-than-expected Q1 sales.

For the period ended March 31, QCi reported:

• Revenue of $3.7 million (compared to analyst estimates of $3.1 million).

• A loss per share of $0.02 (estimate: a $0.05 loss).

The boost in sales was primarily linked to the two acquisitions that closed in the quarter, of Luminar Semiconductor and NuCrypt.

Despite having the most straightforward name (and ticker) connected to the theme, Quantum Computing is seemingly less focused on developing hardware that leaves classical supercomputers in the dust, and more driven to carve out a supporting role in the AI boom.

For instance, earlier this year, the company announced that its NeuraWave photonics computing platform designed for edge inference cases was deployment-ready. This technology includes a plug-in card that aims to accelerate the processing and decision-making capabilities of AI-enabled machines in resource-limited environments using photonics (light) to reduce heat.

“QCi made significant operational progress in the first quarter of 2026, furthering our mission of delivering accessible, scalable, and affordable quantum machines and photonic solutions for practical use across high-growth markets, including high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, aerospace and defense, and advanced sensing and imaging,” said CEO Dr. Yuping Huang in the press release. “As demand for faster and more efficient data processing grows, it is becoming increasingly clear that photonics will be a critical component of future technological advancements given its low power consumption and ability to operate at room temperature.”

The April reading of the Consumer Price Index showed headline inflation rose 0.6% month on month, with core inflation (which strips out volatile food and energy prices) rising 0.4%.

Economists had anticipated inflation rising 0.6% month on month on a headline basis, with core up 0.3% versus March.

Headline inflation rose 3.8% on an annual basis.

Prediction markets indicated a high degree of confidence in a 0.6% monthly rise for headline CPI, and anticipated an annual increase of 3.7%, with less than 50% odds of rising more than that.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

The recent stability in labor market data coupled with the potential for another oil-induced inflation shock in light of the Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz have prompted traders to price the end of the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle. Federal funds futures pricing implies a hike is a more than 50% probable at next March’s meeting.

Prediction markets are less hawkish, pricing in 41% odds of a hike before July 2027 while still expecting a return to tightening in the second half of next year.