Tom Lee: Chip Sales Due to SpaceX IPO Preparations

The ongoing sell-off in chip companies is mainly caused by large investors liquidating winners to free up cash for the upcoming SpaceX IPO of $75 billion. That is according to Tom Lee of Fundstrat in an interview with CNBC on 10 June. The analyst considers this correction healthy and, given that the charts of the chip industry are not completely broken, expects this decline to be quickly bought up.

Lee sees strong technical uptrend continuing

As a contrarian thinker, Lee pushes back against the caution that the SpaceX debut signals a market peak. He believes that investors will pick up the decline and that the strong technically-led upward trend will continue. The analyst emphasises that although challenges lie on the horizon, the fundamentals for further growth are still intact.

Risks later in 2026 on the agenda

Looking at the rest of the year, Lee sees 2026 overall as a positive year for technology companies. However, he warns of potential headwinds later this year. Important factors that could affect the market include the appointment of the new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, expiring lockups of shares from earlier IPOs, and looming energy scarcity that could pressure the sector. These factors together could cause a pullback, but Lee sees this as normal market cycle activity.

The Fundstrat partner thus remains cautiously optimistic about technology investments, despite the current volatility and upcoming hurdles.