Kioxia Holdings Corp., a Tokyo-based memory chipmaker, fell as much as 16% in Tokyo on July 17.

The decline left the stock down 52% from last month’s peak as investors questioned whether the AI rally had gone too far.

The slide has wiped at least 30 trillion yen, or about US$185 billion, from Kioxia’s market value in a month.

The drop pushed it from Japan’s most valuable company to the fourth-largest after a gain of more than 600% this year briefly took it past Toyota Motor Corp.

Expectations for AI-related memory and data-storage demand drove the rally.

Kioxia is the world’s third-largest NAND maker, with a 14% shipment share in 2024.

Daiwa Securities strategist Yugo Tsuboi said the memory-chip business remains cyclical.

He added that growing attention on Chinese rivals, and signs that global memory-price gains may start to moderate, could limit further earnings upgrades and prompt profit-taking.

The sell-off also came amid a broader US chip retreat as investors debated whether heavy AI spending could justify lofty valuations.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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