Micron Stock Is Falling. A Chinese Rival Is Muscling In on Its Turf.

Micron Technology’s headquarters in San Jose, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Key Points

• Micron and other memory chip makers saw their stocks fall on news of a new chip development by Chinese rival ChangXin Memory Technologies.
• ChangXin Memory Technologies plans to roll out a new chip by the end of the year that features a 4F square design to store more data.
• The new chip design is also being explored by South Korean memory-chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Memory chip makers have been on a tear this year, but the landscape could be about to change as a Chinese rival seeks to muscle in on their turf.

Micron and its peers were taking a hit on Monday as investors reacted to the news that China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies , or CXMT, had advanced development of a new chip that can store more data.

Shares of Micron dropped 2% to $1,008 ahead of the opening bell. The stock was up 261% for the year through Friday’s close, surging due to the buildout of AI data centers driving up memory demand.

South Korean memory-chip makers were also struggling. SK Hynix American depositary receipts slid 2.1% in premarket trading. Samsung Electronics stock closed 4.4% lower.

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Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Source: FactSetAs of Oct. 12, 2:30 a.m. ET

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1SK HynixMicronSamsungAug. 2026Oct.-30-20-10010203040%

CXMT President Cao Kanyu said at an industrial event that the company planned to roll out a new product by the end of the year, according to a report by the South China Morning Post that cited a company statement.

The memory chip features a so-called 4F square design, which is able to store more memory on a single chip. Both SK Hynix and Samsung have also been exploring that set-up.

Investors have been worrying for a while that CXMT will upend the memory market. Shares surged 466% on their trading debut in July, giving the company a market capitalization of just under $500 billion.

CXMT remained China’s largest company by total valuation as of Monday’s close, ahead of tech giant Tencent and banks China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

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