Key U.S. premarket developments on July 24
BlockBeats reported on July 24 that several major developments were in focus ahead of the U.S. market open, spanning chipmakers, consumer electronics and AI-related software.
Nvidia sends price increase notices to board partners
Nvidia has issued price increase notices to its board partners, covering GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory kits.
Under Nvidia’s supply model, the company sells bundled kits that combine GPU chips with VRAM chips. Board partners then install those components onto their own PCB designs to produce customized graphics cards.
Apple pushes OLED suppliers for lower pricing
As memory chip prices continue to climb and raise total iPhone production costs, Apple is pressuring upstream suppliers and asking display panel makers to sharply reduce OLED screen prices.
Intel posts stronger-than-expected revenue and guidance
Intel is set to report after the bell on Thursday. Its revenue for the second quarter of 2026 came in nearly 12% above analyst expectations, while quarterly revenue growth accelerated to 25% year over year, marking the strongest pace for quarterly revenue in nearly 15 years.
Revenue tied to data center businesses rose by nearly 60% from a year earlier, more than double the company’s overall revenue growth rate.
Intel’s third-quarter revenue guidance also pointed to continued double-digit growth. The guided range implies year-over-year growth of more than 15% to nearly 23%, with the full range above analyst expectations. Based on the midpoint, Intel expects third-quarter revenue of about $16.3 billion, more than 8% above market forecasts and slightly above its actual second-quarter revenue.
Samsung and SK Hynix may sign major U.S. deals during Lee Jae-myung’s visit
Kim Yong-beom, head of policy at South Korea’s presidential office, said Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will sign major agreements involving “huge” sums with leading U.S. technology companies during South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s visit to Silicon Valley.
He said the agreements could include new long-term memory chip supply contracts, strategic investment partnerships and memorandums of understanding. No specific deal value was disclosed.
New ruling in Chey Tae-won divorce case
A South Korean court delivered a new ruling in the nearly decade-long divorce case involving SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his former wife Roh So-young, the daughter of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo.
The court ordered Chey to pay Roh 944 billion won in cash as a property settlement, equivalent to about $644 million, or 4.37 billion yuan. The report added that the market broadly expects the ruling to have limited practical impact on SK Hynix shares.
Three major memory makers to report earnings next week
SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics and Kioxia are all scheduled to release earnings next week.
SK Hynix will report second-quarter results on Wednesday, July 29. Visible Alpha consensus estimates suggest the company may post another strong quarter.
Samsung Electronics will release its full second-quarter earnings report on Thursday, July 30. Earlier, on July 7, Samsung published preliminary figures showing second-quarter revenue rose 129% year over year to 171 trillion won, or about $116.6 billion. Operating profit for the same period reached 89.4 trillion won, or about $58.4 billion, up 18-fold from a year earlier and a record for any single quarter.
Kioxia is due to release results for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 on Friday, July 31. The market expects its quarterly profit may double from the previous quarter.
Oracle lands $7 billion Pentagon software contract
Oracle won a $7 billion software contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. Its shares were up nearly 2% in premarket trading.
Amazon upgrades Alexa+
Amazon has updated Alexa+, adding features designed to strengthen its next-generation AI assistant.
Alexa+ now supports natural conversations, information memory and task execution. It can help users manage schedules, summarize emails, generate podcasts, control smart home devices, and complete daily tasks such as shopping, restaurant reservations and ride hailing.
Nvidia signs $1.5 billion agreement with Amkor Technology
Nvidia has signed a $1.5 billion agreement with Amkor Technology to support the expansion of chip packaging facilities and broaden semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the United States.
The agreement includes a prepayment that will help Amkor increase manufacturing capacity in Arizona. The two companies said the partnership will focus on chip packaging and testing technologies for artificial intelligence applications.