May 2026 Theme Wrap — The Monthly Theme Map
18 trading days · 89 recurring themes · top 15 themes — most persistent is Semiconductor Equipment at 9 days (monthly avg. +14.8%). Best single day this month: May 11, +38.7%.
Average change over the period
Chip-related themes led May 2026. Semiconductor Equipment and Semiconductor Majors (Fabrication) each had 9 strong days, more than any other theme.
Robotics (Industrial & Collaborative) had the month’s biggest single-day move, 38.74% on May 11. Its average change of 17.74% was also the highest of any theme listed.
May 21 was the best day for many themes, including HBM (High Bandwidth Memory). Elsewhere, Quantum Cryptography & Computing peaked at 22.87% on May 26.
89 themes recurred this month.
Monthly Theme Ranking
| Theme | Days strong | Monthly avg. | Best day | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semiconductor Equipment | 9d | +14.8% | 2026-05-13 (+21.9%) | Nepes Ark, Dawon Nexview, Device |
| Semiconductor Majors (Fabrication) | 9d | +7.2% | 2026-05-21 (+10.5%) | DB HiTek, SK hynix, Samsung Electronics |
| Robotics (Industrial & Collaborative) | 7d | +17.7% | 2026-05-11 (+38.7%) | Raon Robotics, Ajinextek, Oneul E&m |
| Physical AI & Humanoid Robots | 7d | +11.0% | 2026-05-21 (+21.0%) | LG Electronics, Il, Ajinextek |
| Semiconductor Materials & Components | 6d | +12.8% | 2026-05-21 (+17.6%) | HLB innoVation, KEC, New Power Plasma |
| System Semiconductors | 5d | +12.7% | 2026-05-21 (+15.5%) | Nepes Ark, Mirai Semiconductors, Sigetronics |
| Telecom Equipment | 5d | +11.9% | 2026-05-04 (+17.4%) | Lightron Fiber-optic Devices, VISSEM Electronics, Sensorview |
| Semiconductor Substrates (FC-BGA, MLB) | 5d | +10.9% | 2026-05-21 (+13.7%) | LG Innotek, Dawon Nexview, Daeduck Electronics |
| Optical Communications | 5d | +8.1% | 2026-05-04 (+13.5%) | Mercury, Lightron Fiber-optic Devices, Seoul Viosys |
| Power Equipment | 4d | +16.8% | 2026-05-04 (+25.1%) | KBI Metal, Gaon Cable |
| Quantum Cryptography & Computing | 4d | +14.3% | 2026-05-26 (+22.9%) | Dream Security, Ictk, Photon |
| AI & Robotics | 4d | +13.9% | 2026-05-21 (+22.3%) | LG Electronics, RoboRobo, MakinaRocks |
| Electric Cables | 4d | +13.1% | 2026-05-04 (+17.0%) | KBI Metal, Gaon Cable |
| 5G | 4d | +11.1% | 2026-05-22 (+14.2%) | LG Electronics, Lightron Fiber-optic Devices, OE Solutions |
| HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) | 4d | +10.6% | 2026-05-21 (+13.1%) | Laserssel, Mirai Semiconductors, MKElectron |
What to Watch Next Month
Next, the question is whether chip themes such as Semiconductor Equipment extend the streaks they carried through May 29. The robotics themes showed up as recurring rather than continuous runs.
Power Equipment and Electric Cables, both led by KBI Metal and Gaon Cable, logged 4 strong days each. The next thing to track is whether these recurring themes come back.
Theme heatmap
| 05-04 | 05-06 | 05-07 | 05-08 | 05-11 | 05-12 | 05-13 | 05-14 | 05-15 | 05-18 | 05-19 | 05-20 | 05-21 | 05-22 | 05-26 | 05-27 | 05-28 | 05-29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semiconductor Equipment | +15.5 | +13.5 | +10.9 | +13.4 | +21.9 | +18.6 | +16.8 | +14.2 | +8.2 | |||||||||
| Semiconductor Majors (Fabrication) | +6.7 | +8.4 | +2.7 | +4.3 | +9.6 | +7.1 | +10.5 | +9.9 | +6.0 | |||||||||
| Robotics (Industrial & Collaborative) | +11.2 | +8.1 | +16.5 | +38.7 | +14.8 | +12.1 | +22.7 | |||||||||||
| Physical AI & Humanoid Robots | +11.1 | +8.3 | +13.8 | +10.4 | +8.7 | +3.7 | +21.0 | |||||||||||
| Semiconductor Materials & Components | +10.0 | +10.0 | +14.1 | +17.6 | +13.4 | +11.5 | ||||||||||||
| System Semiconductors | +14.5 | +7.7 | +11.2 | +15.5 | +14.4 | |||||||||||||
| Telecom Equipment | +17.4 | +12.0 | +8.2 | +7.0 | +15.0 | |||||||||||||
| Semiconductor Substrates (FC-BGA, MLB) | +12.7 | +7.5 | +13.7 | +10.5 | +10.2 | |||||||||||||
| Optical Communications | +13.5 | +6.9 | +6.6 | +3.1 | +10.3 | |||||||||||||
| Power Equipment | +25.1 | +15.7 | +7.6 | +18.6 | ||||||||||||||
| Quantum Cryptography & Computing | +10.8 | +7.4 | +16.2 | +22.9 | ||||||||||||||
| AI & Robotics | +11.2 | +4.6 | +22.3 | +17.3 | ||||||||||||||
| Electric Cables | +17.0 | +11.8 | +10.3 | +13.1 | ||||||||||||||
| 5G | +9.7 | +8.2 | +12.1 | +14.2 | ||||||||||||||
| HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) | +9.2 | +10.7 | +13.1 | +9.3 |