Key Highlights

● Lam fell Friday, with rising borrowing costs and Fed Chair Warsh's remarks pointed to.

● Intel, Amkor and Kulicke and Soffa fell on the same concerns.

● TSMC's $46.72 billion quarterly revenue and capex plan feed demand for equipment makers.

● Lam reports after the close Oct 21, with consensus near $8.13 billion in revenue.

Equipment makers under pressure

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) fell on Friday, trading lower in the afternoon session, with market reports tying the decline to rising borrowing costs and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh. The same reports grouped Lam with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Amkor Technology (NASDAQ:AMKR) and Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC) as chip stocks that fell on the same concerns.

Lam makes the equipment chipmakers use to deposit and etch the ultra-thin layers of material that form circuits on silicon wafers. Its customers include the world's largest memory and logic chip producers, so its results tend to track how much those companies plan to spend on new factories and tools.

Warsh and the rate picture

Speaking at an IMF gathering in Bangkok, Warsh declined to preview the Fed's October decision, saying, "I don't prejudge meetings." His remarks emphasized price stability. Warsh also said he won't pre-announce decisions for the remaining two meetings of 2026, and that global performance has broadly matched the Fed's expectations since its September hike.

The Fed raised rates by a quarter point in September, its first hike in three years. Futures markets still price in roughly one more quarter-point hike by December. Treasury yields eased over the week, with the 10-year finishing near 5.1, after topping 5.3 earlier in October, the highest level since 2002.

Higher borrowing costs matter for chip-equipment makers because their customers often finance massive factory build-outs, and because long-term rates affect how investors value companies whose earnings depend on future spending cycles.

A sector-wide selloff

Lam's decline came during a sweeping semiconductor retreat. All 30 members of the PHLX Semiconductor Index fell, and the index closed at 11,137.29. KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC), a fellow equipment supplier, fell, as did Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO). Sources differed on the length of the chip sector's losing streak, counting either eight or nine straight declines.

Market commentary said investors have shifted from asking what artificial intelligence can do to how it will be financed. A published report said more than $1 trillion was erased from semiconductor and AI-related stocks over the week.

A supportive data point

One industry update offered a counterweight. TSMC (NYSE:TSM) reported third-quarter revenue of $46.72 billion, above guidance, and kept its 2026 capital spending plan at $60 billion to $64 billion. Spending plans like TSMC's feed directly into demand for equipment from suppliers such as Lam.

How the indexes closed

The Nasdaq-100 fell sharply, though reports differed on the size of the move. The Nasdaq Composite slid 572.99 points to 26,140.03, the S&P 500 lost 84.62 points to 7,659.44 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 175.28 points to 52,002.41.

Lam Research Sets Its Oct 21 Report

The Fed's rate decision follows on October 28. Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) report on October 21 as well. Lam Research reports quarterly results on October 21 after the close. Consensus estimates call for earnings of about $2.17 to $2.18 a share on revenue of around $8.13 billion, according to a published earnings calendar. Investors will listen for commentary on memory and logic customers' spending plans and on China.