A New York Times report that OpenAI is considering pushing its much-anticipated initial public offering into 2027 sent another wave through an already jittery technology sector on Friday, with chip names, hyperscalers and AI infrastructure plays absorbing fresh losses on both sides of the Pacific.
The S&P 500 was down 0.75%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.44%, or roughly 237 points, as traders digested the prospect that the marquee listing many in Silicon Valley had been quietly building portfolios around may not arrive on schedule. The slide capped a punishing stretch for semiconductors: Nvidia ticked another 1% lower and is now on pace for an 8% weekly decline, what would be its worst week in more than a year.
A trillion-dollar listing pushed back
According to reports cited by TradingKey and PYMNTS, OpenAI's advisers have warned the company that the current bout of tech-stock volatility could blunt retail enthusiasm and weigh on pricing for an offering the firm has been targeting at roughly a $1 trillion valuation. A 2027 debut, rather than a 2026 one, would give markets more time to digest the surge in AI capital spending — and give OpenAI more time to demonstrate that returns on those investments justify the price tag.
The signal landed against a backdrop of mounting questions about whether the AI build-out's economics are turning. Apple's announcement earlier in the week that it would raise prices on several iPad and Mac models — citing memory chip shortages — has been read by some on the sell side as a leading indicator that rising input costs will compress hyperscaler and device-maker margins well into 2027 and possibly 2028.
SoftBank, Samsung and SK Hynix lead the global drag
The most violent reaction was in Asia. SoftBank Group, whose Vision funds and direct stakes leave it among the most exposed public equities to OpenAI's valuation, slumped 13% in Tokyo trade. Memory suppliers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both of which have publicly disclosed tie-ups with OpenAI, fell between 4% and 6%.
That weakness rolled into the U.S. premarket, dragging Micron, Western Digital and Sandisk lower before the open. Megacap AI proxies including Nvidia, Qualcomm, Intel and Apple all traded in the red through the morning.
Analysts: a valuation reset, not a thesis break
"The long-term investment case for AI remains compelling, but investors are becoming far more selective about which companies can justify the valuations the market has assigned to them," David Makaryan, a senior partner at Alpha Pacific Group, told the BBC. Makaryan said the price action looked like a mix of valuation reassessment and profit-taking after a powerful run.
Morningstar analysts struck a more cautionary note, warning that the same memory-chip boom that vaulted Micron to record results this week could give way to a supply glut once new capacity comes online — followed by a sharp revenue decline of the sort the memory industry has repeatedly served up over its history.
What to watch next
For now, the OpenAI report sits on top of a thicker pile of AI-spending anxieties: stretched chip valuations, rising end-device prices, and the question of how many quarters hyperscalers will keep increasing capex without earnings dilution. A delayed IPO would not, by itself, change OpenAI's revenue trajectory — but it does remove a near-term catalyst that bulls had been counting on to validate the AI complex's premium multiples.
Traders heading into the weekend will be watching whether next week's economic calendar — and any further reporting on OpenAI's plans — gives the chip complex room to stabilize, or simply extends the rotation out of the AI trade that has defined June.
Sources: CNBC, TheStreet, Seeking Alpha, TradingKey, BBC via Alpha Pacific Group, PYMNTS