Micron Technology (ASX: MU) closed 3.20% higher on Thursday, recording a massive trading volume of $39.119 billion. Elon Musk revealed that Micron recently provided Tesla with a "very substantial" allocation of memory chips, helping the automaker meet its demand for this increasingly scarce commodity.

During Tesla's quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Musk stated that Micron's supply terms were very reasonable, especially given the current environment of tight supply and high prices for memory chips.

The rise of global artificial intelligence (AI) systems has boosted demand for memory chips, which help computers retain and manage data. This frenzy has triggered a broader shortage, impacting other industries, driving up prices, and putting pressure on production.

For the long term, Musk is focused on producing semiconductors in-house. The billionaire has launched an ambitious project called Terafab, aiming to produce computing and memory chips at an unprecedented scale. The project is a joint venture between Tesla and SpaceX, both of which Musk serves as CEO.

Tesla Motors (ASX: TSLA) was the second most active stock, plummeting 14.52%—its largest single-day drop since June 2025—on a turnover of $37.177 billion.

The electric vehicle manufacturer's second-quarter results missed expectations. The company also announced a significant increase in spending, which sparked investor panic.

The company's capital expenditure for the second quarter reached $5.79 billion, a staggering 142% increase year-over-year, more than doubling in size. Tesla now expects total capital spending for the full year to exceed $25 billion. This massive investment caused the quarter's free cash flow to turn negative.

While vehicle revenue exceeded market expectations, profitability deteriorated. Affected by lower average selling prices and a decline in high-margin carbon credit revenue, gross margins fell short of analysts' expectations. There is renewed market concern that Tesla will struggle to balance aggressive investment with profit growth.

NVIDIA (ASX: NVDA
Alphabet (ASX: GOOGL), the parent company of Google, closed 7.13% lower on a volume of $21.929 billion. Alphabet reported that Google Cloud revenue for the second quarter was $24.8 billion, a massive 82% increase year-over-year, significantly exceeding the market's expectation of $22.5 billion. However, due to a substantial increase in capital expenditure, the quarter's free cash flow turned negative for the first time, recording a loss of -$5.855 billion. During the earnings call, Google raised its full-year capital expenditure guidance to between $195 billion and $205 billion, up from the previous forecast of $180 billion to $190 billion. The market is concerned about whether this massive capital expenditure will generate corresponding returns.

Advanced Micro Devices (ASX: AMD) fell 2.29% on a trading volume of $14.232 billion. At a launch event on Thursday (July 23), AMD unveiled a new generation of server processors, upgraded AI performance enhancement products, and a new server rack design.

AMD stated that these products represent a significant upgrade to its existing product line and can compete with, or even outperform, rival products in terms of performance.

The event, held in San Francisco, also featured appearances by several tech company executives, many of whom committed to adopting AMD products, including executives from two major AI model developers, Anthropic and OpenAI.

Intel (ASX: INTC) fell 2.33% on a volume of $11.321 billion. The company's second-quarter total revenue was $16.128 billion, a 25% increase year-over-year, marking the highest growth rate in the past fifteen years. This was driven by strong computing demand, improved product delivery efficiency, and higher manufacturing yields.

Quarterly GAAP operating profit was $1.796 billion, compared to a loss of $3.176 billion in the same period last year, with an operating profit margin of 11.1%. Non-GAAP operating profit was $2.770 billion, with a non-GAAP operating profit margin of 17.2%, positively impacted by lower R&D and MG&A operating expenses (down 6% year-over-year).

Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments at the end of the quarter totalled $29.727 billion, a significant sequential decline due to capital investments in equipment and cleanroom construction during the quarter. Adjusted free cash flow was -$8.419 billion.

Amazon.com (ASX: AMZN) fell 4.57% on a volume of $10.976 billion. Officials from Austin, Texas, confirmed that Amazon's robotics division is likely to be the potential first major tenant for a new development project in East Austin known as "Dog's Head." It is understood that the Austin government plans to develop a $2.2 billion Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) project to fund infrastructure and other public improvements in the area.

The development site covers a total of 2,600 acres. Due to its unique overall shape, the industry has nicknamed it the "Dog's Head" plot. The land is currently valued at approximately $17 million. With the completion of supporting infrastructure and the introduction of industries, the development value of the entire area is expected to exceed $26 billion by the time the TIRZ policy expires in 2061, indicating significant development potential.

SK hynix (ASX: SKHY) closed 2.56% higher on a volume of $6.148 billion. According to reports, SK hynix has completed a record-breaking ADR issuance in the US market, and the quota for converting Korean shares into ADRs has reached the 2.5% limit of total share capital, restricting new supply of US-listed ADRs. Driven by demand, this scarcity of available shares has amplified the stock's upward price elasticity.

ServiceNow (ASX: NOW) fell 3.69% on a volume of $4.516 billion. The company's subscription revenue for the second quarter grew 24.5% year-over-year to $3.88 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.90, exceeding the market consensus of $0.85. A key indicator of future revenue, current remaining performance obligations (cRPO), grew 21% to $13.2 billion, while total remaining performance obligations reached $29 billion. ServiceNow raised its full-year subscription revenue outlook, now expecting it to be between $15.76 billion and $15.78 billion, an increase of approximately 22.5%.

Additionally, a Morgan Stanley research report noted that the market's recent pessimism towards the software sector has been excessive. While the AI wave has concentrated capital flows into chips, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity, the long-term competitiveness and business models of software companies remain attractive. Morgan Stanley maintains an attractive rating for the software sector, naming Microsoft (ASX: MSFT), Palo Alto Networks (ASX: PANW), CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (ASX: CRWD), Cloudflare, Datadog, ServiceNow (ASX: NOW), Snowflake, and Shopify as its most confident Overweight picks for the AI era.