Meta’s AI Chip Plans Revealed: 8 Key Items Shaping the Stock Market Friday

These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of trading Friday. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a mixed market open.

1. Talks between the US and Iran over a permanent peace deal are continuing, according to an American official, despite two days of clashes that threatened to shatter an already fragile ceasefire. The US is still committed to finding a diplomatic solution with Iran, the official said Thursday, declining to be named discussing sensitive matters. The official described the ongoing discussions as technical talks. (Bloomberg) An escalation ‌of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran could upend the International Energy Agency’s forecast of a significant oil market surplus next year, it said on Friday, as global supply jumped in June when the Strait of Hormuz reopened but still lagged pre-war levels. (Reuters)

While it’s somewhat reassuring that peace talks are continuing, a report was published by The Wall Street Journal that, according to Israel, Iran was considering a plan to assassinate President Trump. We understand there are several implications in that, but as we continue to monitor peace talk efforts and renewed fighting, our focus will remain on the volume of ships passing through the strait and what that means for energy prices and supply chain disruptions. So far, the full reopening of the strait has been delayed.

2. There was plenty of uncertainty for investors to contend with this week, but a sense of calm had descended on Wall Street by Friday. The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, was flat at just under 16, down about half a point since Monday’s opening bell. (Barron’s)

We’ll take it but, but we are likely to see volatility return to the market as the Q2 2026 earnings season heats up next week and even more so in the following ones. Next week’s earnings reports will be hot and heavy on financials with the usual barrage of companies ranging from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) to Citigroup (C) and our own Bank of America (BAC) as well as Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). TSM’s end-market comments, especially those for AI and data center, and capex plans will shape expectations for what’s to come in the weeks ahead.

3. Meta Platforms plans to start manufacturing an artificial intelligence chip from ‌September as part of its plan to boost overall computing power to 14 gigawatts next year, showed an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The tech firm’s data center chip, code-named “Iris,” is part of a four-generation project for Meta Training and Inference Accelerators (MTIA) that it will design in-house. The plan is to use custom-built silicon to improve the AI that powers its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms. (Reuters)

Several months back, investors were questioning Meta’s (META) plans for custom AI silicon, but in early March Broadcom (AVGO) CEO Hock Tan said the program was “alive and well” as he discussed Broadcom’s multi-year custom AI silicon outlook. The above not only underscores that, but it also supports the expected strong ramp in Broadcom’s custom AI silicon business in the back half of 2026 and 2027. This caps a big week for Broadcom, which included Apple (AAPL) spending more than $30 billion with it over the next four years for radio and other chips.

4. South Korean memory-chip giant SK Hynix is getting one step closer to becoming a household name in the U.S. The company will list its American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq on Friday, giving U.S. investors another way to buy into one of the hottest areas of the market this year. The offering raised roughly $26.5 billion at a price of $149 a share late Thursday… (MarketWatch)

We could see shares of SK Hynix (SKHY) be a bit volatile out of the gate as investor capital moves from ETFs and other proxies into the ADRs or a fresh wave of leveraged products tied to the shares. ProShares, Leverage Shares and Rex Shares are among issuers readying products that would deliver two times the daily return of SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts, with some preparing inverse versions for investors looking to bet against SKHY shares.

Helping push SK’s IPO deeper into oversubscription territory, yesterday, Micron (MU) said it would increase its spending on new plants in the U.S. by $50 billion to $250 billion to meet memory chip demand. The spending plan runs through 2035, and aims to have Micron make 40% of its DRAM in the U.S. We see it as another positive for our shares of Applied Materials (AMAT).

Near-term, however, the cracks in other markets contending with the current memory shortage are widening. Global shipments of desktops, notebooks, and workstations in 2Q26 declined 3.6% year-over-year to 65.7 million units, according to the latest research from Omdia. As we suspected would be the case several months ago, the sharp increase in memory and storage prices pulled forward demand into Q1 2026 ahead of expected device price increases. Per Omdia, “More than half of the B2B channel partners polled in Omdia’s June survey responded that their customers are putting off hardware refresh plans until the market stabilizes, with a further 6% indicating that outright cancellations were likely.”

With memory supply-demand not expected to balance until late 2027 at the earliest, that’s not a good look for the PC market in H2 2026.

5. There was only one earnings report of note on the docket today, as investors responded favorably to Delta Air Lines’ second-quarter results, sending the stock up 2% in premarket trade. The airline’s adjusted earnings of $1.56 per share beat the consensus as it forecast third-quarter earnings between $2 and $2.50, on revenue growth in the mid-teens on an operating margin between 11% and 13%. (MarketWatch)

Comments on pricing, costs, capacity, and new aircraft spending will be top of mind for us when we parse comments from the Delta (DAL) team on today’s earnings conference call. We’ll tie those learnings back to our shares of Boeing (BA), but also use them as a frame of reference for upcoming earnings from United Airlines (UAL), Southwest (LUV), and other airlines.

We will also note that Delta’s comments about continued gains for its loyalty program and corresponding spending are bullish for our position in American Express (AXP):

“Loyalty and related revenue grew 19 percent, with SkyMiles member engagement continuing to expand beyond air travel within the partner ecosystem. American Express remuneration of $2.4 billion grew 16 percent over last year, supported by accelerating card acquisitions and the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth in cardholder spend. Travel products and non-air partnership revenue increased nearly 20 percent over prior year.“

6. Federal regulators are expected to certify Boeing’s second-to-last version of its 737 later this month, marking a significant—albeit belated—milestone for the plane maker. The 737 MAX 7 is on track to gain approval in the latter weeks of July, assuming there are no late snags, people familiar with the matter said. (WSJ)

That is positive news for our position in Boeing, one that is predicated on rising aircraft deliveries and the corresponding leverage that should bring to the company’s bottom line. In particular, Southwest Airlines (LUV) ordered 258 737 MAX 7 jets from Boeing, and per flight data provider Cirium, it has already built about two dozen aircraft for Southwest that are waiting for approval and subsequent delivery.

Let’s remember, however, that Boeing still has to win certification of the MAX 10, its final version of the 737. Major customers for that aircraft include United Airlines and Delta. Much like the 737 MAX 7, Boeing is already building those jet models ahead of their expected certification later this year. That gives us a reason to pay close attention to capacity and capex comments on today’s Delta earnings call and next week from United.

7. Economic data today per TipRanks: WASDE Report.

8. Companies reporting today per TipRanks: Delta Air Lines (DAL).

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At the time of publication, TheStreet Pro was long AAPL, AMAT, AVGO, AXP, BA, BAC, META, and MU shares.