Memory stocks are framed as the trade still driving AI into 2026-2027: INTC, AMD, and MU have already ripped on the idea that demand is outrunning memory supply, with MU set up for a key 9/30 earnings catalyst and PCE the same day. SPY is still bullish but fragile: it reclaimed 764 and bounced from 750, yet 770 is the line that cannot break if the market is going to avoid a larger pullback. If the market cools, the next rotation is into value and dividends, with MCD, CAT, PEP, and KO flagged as possible turnarounds into October. MCD is the clearest value setup: it is near the bottom of an ascending channel, down 27% from highs, below the 200-day, and weekly oversold like in 2020 and 2023 when it later produced major gains.
Memory trade gains are described as "absolute rockets" and "money soaring rockets," with AI in 2026-2027 still "all about memory."
INTC was called a buy at $88 and has since run $32.81, a 36% gain in just a couple weeks since Sept. 1.
AMD ran from $459 to $615, a $155 move and a 33% gain.
MU is called the most important memory stock because it reports earnings on Sept. 30, creating a runup window between now and then.
The memory runup is tied to the Fed meeting, the rate hike, and PCE on Sept. 30, with PCE described as the key inflation gauge the Fed will watch.
On Sept. 15, INTC's CEO warning that memory shortages could worsen into 2027 was described as a major catalyst for the memory trade; MU jumped more than 5% two days later.
The setup is that AI demand is growing faster than memory factory supply, so customers will compete for chips, prices stay high, and profits last longer than expected; MU has also told the market supply would be tight in 2027.
The market wants to take profits before MU's Sept. 30 earnings to "prove it," and the upside trade is presented as easy money into that event, though a bad MU read plus a bad inflation print could slap the sector down.
SPY rolled over, bounced hard from 750 "as predicted," then cleared 764 to keep the move alive; it now shows a small candle and compression at the 60% RSI level.
SPY cannot afford a close below 770; a close under that would raise concern for a larger pullback and force a return to 764.
SPY has made lower lows since mid-August from around 775, so until price gets back above 775 the market is essentially still in a downtrend.
INTC needs 117 as support and the top of a bullish descending channel; a close above 117 is technically bullish and could set up a push toward 124 and then 122, but a close below 117 raises risk of a return to 108.
INTC's RSI is above 60%, described as super important and previously the condition that made the stock "rip and cook" into a rocket; even there, the trade still needs a stop-loss and plan.
If growth cools, the next rotation is into value; CAT, MCD, PEP, and KO are named as setups that could bottom between now and Sept. 30 and reverse into October.
MCD is nearly 30% off, down 27% from all-time highs, below the 200-day moving average, and sitting at the bottom of an ascending channel; weekly RSI is oversold, which only happened in 2020 and 2023.
Those prior MCD weekly-oversold setups were huge buying opportunities: in 2020 MCD went from $15 to $200 in the following months, and in 2023 it moved from $230 to $283 over the next year; the upside target given here is $365 in the next 365 days.