Market Commentary:

The Sector Divergence Continues

Why Electronic Components Are Ripping While Commodities Bleed

Today’s tape is showing you exactly what rotation looks like in real time. While copper miners and uranium names are getting crushed—ERO down 5.7%, CCJ off 3.9%—the electronic component plays are absolutely ripping. TTM Technologies up 6%, Corning up 4.1%. This isn’t random noise. This is smart money rotating out of commodities that ran too far too fast and into the picks-and-shovels companies that actually manufacture the components for AI infrastructure.

What makes this particularly important for systematic traders is that it’s revealing where the real earnings power sits. The commodity plays were narrative-driven momentum trades. The electronic component manufacturers have actual order books, real margins, and backlog visibility. Let’s break down what’s happening and which names are telling you where to focus versus which ones are screaming ‘stay away.’

The Clear Winners: Electronic Components and PCB Manufacturers

TTM Technologies (TTM) – Up 5.97%

This is the star of today’s show. TTM makes printed circuit boards—the actual physical boards that all semiconductor chips sit on. This stock trades at 81 P/E, which sounds expensive until you realize the company has explosive growth tied to AI server demand. Volume today: 282,801—well above average. This is institutional accumulation, not retail gambling.

What makes TTM critical: hyperscalers need PCBs for every AI server they build. Nvidia sells the chips, but TTM provides the boards those chips mount on. This is true picks-and-shovels exposure with actual manufacturing capacity and customer commitments. The 6% move today isn’t speculation—it’s a revaluation as the market figures out that PCB demand is going to be insane for years.

Corning (GLW) – Up 4.09%

We’ve talked about GLW before—it remains the gold standard for collar-friendly AI infrastructure plays. Today’s 4% move on 2.6 million shares is continuation of a steady, institutional-quality uptrend. GLW makes optical fiber, specialty glass for data centers, and glass substrates for displays. P/E of 58 with real earnings and a decades-long moat in specialty glass manufacturing.

Why GLW keeps working: boring company, exciting secular demand. AI data centers need fiber. Liquid cooling systems need specialty glass. Advanced packaging needs glass substrates. GLW has pricing power, long-term contracts, and the capacity to deliver. This is exactly what you want to own or sell puts against—predictable, profitable, and positioned in front of multi-year demand.

The Losers: Commodity Plays Hit Reality

ERO (Ero Copper) – Down 5.67%

Copper miners are getting destroyed today. ERO down 5.7% on heavy volume (575,033 shares) tells you that the copper reflation trade is cooling off. This stock trades at 27 P/E, which is actually reasonable for a miner, but the problem is copper prices themselves. When commodity prices pull back, miners get hit twice: once on the commodity, once on sentiment.

The narrative was that AI data centers and electrification would drive massive copper demand. That’s still probably true long-term, but short-term the trade got crowded and fast money is taking profits. Copper miners have real assets and real cash flow, so they’re not going to zero, but they’re also not collar-friendly right now because commodity volatility kills systematic income strategies.

CCJ (Cameco) – Down 3.91%

Uranium names are giving back gains. CCJ down 3.9% on 1.1 million shares after a monster run. This stock trades at 148 P/E—pure growth expectations priced in. The thesis was nuclear renaissance, data center power demand, and government support. All of that is still valid, but after a parabolic move, profit-taking is natural.

CCJ is a quality company with real uranium production and long-term contracts. Unlike garbage speculative names, this has fundamental support. But at 148 P/E, there’s no margin for error. If uranium prices stabilize or pull back, the stock has a long way to fall before it looks cheap again. This is a ‘watch and wait’ situation—not a sell-puts-into-weakness opportunity yet.

HUT (Hut 8) – Down 1.87%

Bitcoin miner trying to be an AI play. Down 1.87% which is actually showing relative strength compared to the beating other speculative names took yesterday. But let’s be clear: this remains pure speculation with a 32 P/E on erratic earnings. When crypto sentiment fades or AI hype cools, this goes much lower. Not collar material.

Mixed Signals: Tech Hardware Holding Firm

WDC (Western Digital) – Down 1.38%

Hard drive maker for AI storage. Down slightly at 1.4% on huge volume (3.86 million shares). This is not weakness—this is consolidation after a strong run. WDC trades at 28 P/E with actual profits and growing demand for high-capacity storage in data centers. AI models need somewhere to store training data. WDC provides that.

For systematic traders, WDC remains one of the best risk-reward setups. Slight pullbacks on high volume are buy-the-dip opportunities, not reasons to panic. The company has real earnings, institutional support, and secular demand. This is exactly the kind of name where you wait for 2-3% weakness, then sell puts or establish collar positions.

STX (Seagate Technology) – Down 0.64%

Nearly flat on the day at down 0.64%. Same story as WDC—hard drive demand for AI storage is real, the stock has earnings support (50 P/E), and institutions are holding positions. Minor weakness is noise, not a reason to abandon the thesis. Both STX and WDC belong in the ‘quality tech holding up well’ category.

The Garbage Bin: Avoid These Entirely

BE (Bloom Energy) – Up 0.97%

Tiny bounce today after getting crushed 7.2% yesterday. This stock has no earnings (negative P/E), burns cash, and depends entirely on hydrogen fuel cell hype and government subsidies. The 1% move today is dead-cat-bounce garbage. When momentum stocks with no earnings start bouncing, it’s usually retail trying to catch a falling knife. Stay away.

ALGM (Allegro Microsystems) – Down 2.53%

Semiconductor company with negative P/E. Down 2.5% today on thin volume (395,995 shares). This is a company losing money in a hot semiconductor market—that tells you everything you need to know about their competitive position. When the easy money dries up, these unprofitable semi companies get destroyed. Not collar material.

GFS (GlobalFoundries) – Down 1.26%

Contract chip manufacturer with negative P/E. Volume is incredibly thin (142,165 shares). This is a government-subsidized foundry that can’t make money despite massive semiconductor demand. The business model doesn’t work without subsidies, and thin volume means you’ll get terrible option pricing. Hard pass.

What This Sector Divergence Means

Today’s action is revealing a critical shift: the market is moving from commodity speculation to manufacturing reality. Copper and uranium ran on narrative-driven momentum—’electrification needs copper’ and ‘AI needs nuclear power.’ Those narratives aren’t wrong, but they got ahead of fundamentals. Now we’re seeing profit-taking and rotation.

Where’s the money going? Into the companies that actually make the physical components for AI infrastructure. TTM makes the circuit boards. GLW makes the fiber and glass. WDC and STX make the storage. These companies have order books, backlog visibility, and pricing power. They’re not trading on hope—they’re trading on actual purchase orders from hyperscalers.

The divergence also exposes which stocks have real earnings support versus which ones were pure momentum. Stocks with negative P/E ratios (BE, ALGM, GFS) are struggling or bouncing weakly. Stocks with actual profits and reasonable valuations (GLW, WDC, STX, TTM) are either rallying or holding steady. This is exactly what you want to see if you’re focused on quality over speculation.

Ranking Today’s Movers by Quality and Opportunity

Tier 1: Buy the Dip / Establish Positions

Ticker	Rationale
GLW	Up 4.1% on institutional volume. Boring company, exciting demand. Perfect collar DNA. Any pullback is a gift.
TTM	Up 6% on real demand. PCB manufacturing for AI servers. High P/E but explosive growth. Watch for consolidation to add.
WDC	Down 1.4% is consolidation, not weakness. Storage demand for AI is real. 28 P/E with profits. Sell puts on weakness.
STX	Nearly flat. Same story as WDC. Quality tech with earnings support. Minor pullbacks are entry points.

Tier 2: Watch List – Wait for Better Setup

Ticker	Rationale
CCJ	Down 3.9% after big run. Quality company but 148 P/E needs perfect execution. Wait for deeper pullback to 25-30% off highs.
ERO	Down 5.7%. Copper miner with real assets but commodity exposure cuts both ways. Wait for copper prices to stabilize.
SCCO	Down 3%. Large-cap copper miner with 43 P/E. Better quality than ERO but same commodity risk. Wait for sector to find floor.
ACMR	Up 1.7%. Semi equipment with 33 P/E. Thin volume (87,667 shares). Options will be expensive. Only for patient traders.

Tier 3: Avoid Completely

Ticker	Rationale
BE	Up 1% after down 7.2% yesterday. No earnings, burns cash, pure speculation. Dead cat bounce.
HUT	Down 1.9%. Bitcoin miner pretending to be AI play. When crypto sentiment turns, this collapses.
ALGM	Down 2.5%. Negative P/E. Losing money in a hot semi market means terrible competitive position.
GFS	Down 1.3%. Negative P/E, thin volume (142K shares). Government-subsidized foundry that can’t make money.
VSAT	Up 1.7%. Satellite communications with negative P/E. Thin volume (84,589 shares). Avoid.

Bottom Line: Follow the Earnings, Not the Narrative

Today’s divergence is teaching a critical lesson: narratives drive initial momentum, but earnings determine which stocks survive rotation. Copper and uranium ran on electrification and nuclear power stories. Those stories aren’t wrong, but they got ahead of actual commodity fundamentals and now they’re correcting.

Meanwhile, the companies that actually manufacture AI infrastructure components—circuit boards, optical fiber, specialty glass, data storage—are rallying because they have order books and backlog visibility. TTM and GLW aren’t guessing about future demand. They’re filling purchase orders from Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta. That’s the difference between speculation and investable business models.

For systematic income traders, this creates clear guidance: focus on Tier 1 names with actual earnings and deep option liquidity. GLW remains the gold standard. WDC and STX offer storage exposure with profit support. TTM is higher risk due to valuation but has explosive growth. All of these are collar-friendly because they have earnings floors and institutional backing.

Avoid the garbage bin entirely—BE, HUT, ALGM, GFS, VSAT. These stocks have no earnings, burn cash, and depend on momentum that can evaporate overnight. Rich IV on these names is a trap, not an opportunity. The premiums look juicy until the stock gaps down 20% and you’re stuck owning unprofitable companies with no visibility to profitability. Stick to quality. Follow the earnings. Let the speculators chase narratives while you collect systematic income from companies that actually make money.