Apple Gets The Bill

Welcome to LazyListen. This is The Daily Rip for today. Markets closed mixed on Thursday, with memory chip stocks stealing the spotlight after Micron’s blockbuster earnings report.

I. data centers, remains red-hot, pushing prices and margins well beyond typical cycles. This surge in chip prices, however, is creating headaches for consumer tech giants like Apple and Microsoft, who are now passing on those costs to customers.

Starting with the macro setup, inflation remains stubbornly high. The personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, hit a three-year peak in May, rising four point one percent year over year. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, climbed to three point four percent, the highest since late 2023.

Despite some easing in oil prices, consumers keep spending and businesses continue investing, leaving the Federal Reserve with little room to ease up on rate hikes. This data keeps the door open for more tightening in the months ahead. I.

applications. This has led to a dramatic price surge in RAM and storage components, which have reportedly quadrupled over the past three quarters. Investors rewarded this with a strong rally: Micron’s stock jumped over twenty percent, Sandisk surged nearly twenty two percent, and other chip equipment makers like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA also saw double-digit gains.

Even Western Digital and Seagate caught a bid. But here’s the catch: Apple and Microsoft, big consumers of these chips, took a hit. Apple’s shares dropped more than six percent after the company announced it would raise prices on select MacBook and iPad models by one to three hundred dollars to offset higher memory and storage costs.

iPhone prices remain unchanged for now, but analysts warn that higher component costs could add around two hundred dollars per iPhone if memory prices stay elevated. Microsoft also fell nearly three and a half percent, reflecting similar margin pressures. This dynamic highlights the tension between chipmakers benefiting from scarcity and consumer tech companies struggling to absorb or pass on those costs.

In the biotech space, SELLAS Life Sciences grabbed attention with a nearly fifteen percent rally after a key filing related to its Phase 3 trial for an acute myeloid leukemia treatment. The trial, called REGAL, is nearing completion with 78 of 80 required events recorded, meaning the final data readout could be imminent. The company’s update on executive change-of-control agreements sparked speculation among retail investors about a potential acquisition or partnership.

While this remains speculative, the outcome of the trial could be a major catalyst, as positive results would support a regulatory filing and boost the stock, while failure would likely send it lower. On the legal front, Bayer’s shares jumped over seventeen percent following a Supreme Court ruling that protected the company’s Monsanto unit from certain state-level cancer lawsuits related to its Roundup weedkiller. The court decided that Bayer cannot be sued for failing to add cancer warnings that the EPA did not require.

This ruling provides significant relief to Bayer, which has faced thousands of claims and is working on a multi-billion-dollar settlement. The decision resets the legal landscape and lifted Bayer’s stock sharply. Looking at other movers, the industrial and tech sectors saw notable activity.

-driven equipment demand. I. infrastructure growth.

Caterpillar added six percent, leading industrial stocks higher. I. software offerings, and ON Semiconductor fell six percent amid merger-related strategic concerns.

Figma also declined nearly ten percent after updates failed to halt selling pressure. In community and retail sentiment, Apple’s price hikes sparked debate on Stocktwits, with some traders viewing the selloff as an overreaction and a buying opportunity, while others see it as a sign of weakening demand. SELLAS remains a favorite among biotech enthusiasts, with bullish sentiment dominating despite the binary risk tied to its trial results.

m. m. Earnings reports include Apogee Enterprises before the open, and Conduit Pharmaceuticals and Bitcoin Depot after the close.

These releases could offer fresh insights into consumer demand and industrial activity as the market navigates persistent inflation and shifting tech dynamics. Thanks for listening. Catch you next time on LazyListen.