Bernstein: July semiconductor sales up 131% year-over-year, with memory contributing nearly 70% of the increase.

TechFlow reports, according to Chaoxiang Research, a September 8, 2026 Bernstein research report indicated that global semiconductor sales in July rose 131% year-on-year and fell 9.5% month-on-month, slightly underperforming the historical average of 8.5%. Memory sales surged 452% year-on-year, cumulatively contributing approximately $355 billion in new revenue this year, accounting for nearly 70% of the industry’s 111% year-to-date increase. Excluding memory, sales still grew 35% year-on-year. Month-on-month performance across product categories generally exceeded seasonal patterns: DRAM dropped 17.5% (seasonal average -25.7%), NAND declined 14.7% (seasonal average -28.8%), and logic grew 2.2% (seasonal average -0.9%). Regional performance diverged significantly, with China down 28% month-on-month while the Americas declined by only 0.4%.

Bernstein stated that memory prices remain the primary catalyst for industry growth, but robust expansion in non-memory segments suggests sector fundamentals are not overly reliant on a single product category. The sharp month-on-month pullback in the Chinese market is largely driven by memory price volatility and is not enough to change the sector’s broader positive outlook. The firm has assigned an "Outperform" rating to ADI, AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Applied Materials, among others.