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Index Tracker Notes:

The markets started the week off in the red, as the U.S. and Iran trade missile strikes in the Middle East with Trump reimposing a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz & proposing a 20% toll on cargo running through the Strait.

Semis, Semis, Semis… it may sound hard to believe, but there are over 1 trillion semiconductors (chips) made every single year, with no signs of slowing any time soon. As technology continues to advance more and more, the demand for chips feels as though it may be never ending. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) is a company we have covered before on the Sift Stack, but want to cover it again this week ahead of highly anticipated earnings that could help refuel the semiconductor bull run.

As we mentioned before, if you want a chip, its likely coming directly from TSM. All of the largest companies in the world get their chips from TSM; names like Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Intel, Amazon, Google, and Tesla. Its no wonder a company like TSM is projecting revenue growth of 30% for 2026, the largest companies in the world are always racing as fast as they can to make newer, faster, better, now more than ever.

It is reported that TSM has about 75% of the entire foundry market. For those unaware of what the foundry market is, it is the companies that physically manufacture the chips. So Nvidia designs the chips, but TSM actually makes the physical chip. This might make you ask the question, “well why doesn’t Nvidia just make the chips themselves?” Great question. To those asking, making the chips is, well, harder than it may seem. In our opinion, this foundry market might be one of the hardest barriers of entry in the entire market. The sheer amount of work and process to create these chips is nothing short of mind boggling, giving TSM an impressive moat advantage. Earnings this week are expected to come in hot, with year-over-year revenue expected to climb 35%+ and it is no surprise why as the demand for Ai and Data Centers has continued to grow as we start the second half of 2026.

The AI trade just got a new heavyweight on Wall Street. SK Hynix, the South Korean memory giant behind the high-bandwidth chips powering Nvidia's GPUs, made its Nasdaq debut Friday - and it was massive. The company raised $26.5 billion, the biggest first-time U.S. listing ever by a foreign company, with shares priced at $149 and closing around $168, up roughly 13% on day one. This isn't a niche name: SK Hynix controls 56.4% of the high bandwidth memory market and carries a market cap hovering around $1 trillion, second only to Samsung in South Korea. It lands just a month after SpaceX's record-setting IPO - the AI money keeps finding its way to public markets. The catch? Memory is a famously boom-and-bust business, and the debate over whether AI capex is overheating is getting louder.

Earnings season opened with a bang Tuesday when JPMorgan $JPM ( ▲ 0.34% ) , Bank of America $BAC ( ▲ 0.27% ) , Citigroup $C ( ▲ 0.88% ) , Wells Fargo $WFC ( ▲ 0.18% ) , and Goldman Sachs $GS ( ▲ 0.68% ) all reported second-quarter results before the open - and all five beat expectations. JPMorgan stole the show with its biggest quarterly profit on record, powered by a nearly $6 billion haul from stock trading, with CEO Jamie Dimon saying every major business posted record revenue. Citi's net income jumped to $5.8 billion from $4 billion a year ago, and equities trading revenue surged across the board - with a boost from the record-setting SpaceX IPO, where these banks collected underwriting fees. The twist: despite the profit haul, bank stocks were mixed on the day, though JPMorgan rose 2.5%. Two storylines to watch from the calls: Dimon saying AI has helped cut up to 40% of jobs in certain roles, and executives insisting the consumer remains resilient despite oil-price volatility.

Three games left... Spain just punched the first ticket to the final, shutting out France 2-0 in Tuesday's semifinal - the same Spain side that ended Belgium's run after Belgium had demolished the USMNT 4-1. Argentina stared elimination in the face against Egypt - down 2-0 in the 67th minute - before ripping off three goals in the final eleven minutes, capped by a 90th-minute winner that broke Egyptian hearts. England needed its own escape act against Norway: Haaland's team, fresh off stunning Brazil, led 1-0 before England equalized on the stroke of halftime, and the winner didn't come until deep in extra time. Now everything comes down to today: England and Argentina, one of football's fiercest rivalries, playing for the right to face Spain in Sunday's final. The 2022 rematch is off the table - a new story gets written this week.

Last week’s poll results: “Who will win the World Cup Golden Boot?”

Featured Sifter from TikTok, @Hunt768 on the Golden Boot race - “This one is simple. Mbappe will win the title. Like Henry when he was younger.”

“I always want to show that I’m the best, because if you think that you are not the best, you are setting limits for yourself.”

Feel free send feedback or further input on the poll question to [email protected] or [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!