Chip stocks surge, SOX index at its highest in three months — Teradyne, Macom and Arm lead

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, known as SOX, climbed on Friday to its highest level in three months — up as much as 3.4% in intraday trading, while in late trading it was up about 2.3%, according to Investor’s Business Daily. Chip stocks are experiencing one of their strongest days in recent months, driven by continued demand for artificial intelligence technologies.

Leading the gainers were Teradyne, up 7% to $446.76, passing an early buy point of 444.17; Macom Technology Solutions, up 8% to $325.80; and Arm Holdings, up 6% to $310.29. Teradyne this week announced its new Magnum E2 memory test system, designed for advanced DRAM chips and flash interfaces.

The AI chip giants AMD and Nvidia also reached new intraday records, confirming investor enthusiasm for the sector. Outside the SOX composition, chip stocks that are breaking out include Advantest, ASE Technology, ChipMOS Technologies and United Microelectronics (UMC).

Today’s rise lifts chip stocks into territory where analysts are discussing whether the AI wave is entering a new phase of maturity, in which the winners are no longer only the processor makers, but also the companies that test, package and build the infrastructure around them.