Lam Research (LRCX) Rose on AI Data Center and Memory Spending
Columbia Threadneedle Investments, an investment management company, released its "Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund" second quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During the quarter, the Fund's Institutional Class shares returned 50.34%, outperforming the MSCI World Information Technology Index's 33.65% gain. Stock selection in semiconductors, technology hardware and software, together with an off-benchmark electrical equipment allocation, supported relative performance, while exposure to financials, consumer discretionary and healthcare detracted. Technology stocks rallied as concerns over the Iran conflict eased and AI infrastructure spending boosted demand for semiconductors, memory, networking, servers and power solutions. The Fund expects AI and data-centre investment to remain strong, supported by broadening earnings growth and improving software bookings, cloud consumption and customer spending. However, geopolitical uncertainty, higher interest rates and heavy AI investment could pressure valuations and free cash flow. The strategy holds 50–75 technology companies across market capitalisations and uses bottom-up GARP research to identify misunderstood and undervalued businesses in the technology industry. In addition, please check the Fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund highlighted Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX). Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. On July 27, 2026, Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) closed at $291.61 per share. One-month return of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) was -32.70% and its shares gained 194.73% over the past 52 weeks. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) has a market capitalization of $364.68 billion with a 52-week trading range between $90.94 – $438.50.
Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund stated the following regarding Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) was one of the largest positions in the fund during the quarter. The stock appreciated as investors became increasingly optimistic that AI-driven data-center spending would sustain robust demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, while memory customers accelerated investments in high-bandwidth memory and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) capacity. Lam stock also benefited from improving semiconductor-industry fundamentals, strong earnings execution and growing confidence that leading-edge logic and memory capital expenditures would remain elevated through 2026, supporting Lam's revenue and margin outlook."
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 123 hedge fund portfolios held Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) at the end of the first quarter, up from 104 in the previous quarter. Lam Research Corporation's (NASDAQ:LRCX) revenue for the March quarter of 2026 was $5.84 billion, representing a 9% sequential increase and a 24% increase compared to March quarter of 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
In another article, we covered Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) and shared NZS Growth Equity Strategy's views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.