Usman Salis
⬤ The memory chip market is heading into a major price surge, with forecasts for 2026 getting dramatically revised upward. Citibank now expects average DRAM prices to jump 88% next year, a huge increase from their earlier prediction of 53%. The main culprits? AI workloads eating up memory capacity faster than companies like Micron Technology can produce it.
⬤ Server memory prices are facing an even steeper climb, with projections showing a 144% year-over-year spike as AI training and inference operations demand more and more memory resources. Micron has warned that supply shortages will likely stretch beyond 2026, estimating they'll only be able to satisfy between 50% and 67% of total customer demand even as new manufacturing facilities come online.
⬤ Memory makers are reshaping their production priorities, focusing on high-margin AI and server products while cutting back on conventional DRAM and NAND for consumer devices. Bernstein analysts predict blended DRAM pricing could surge nearly 30% quarter-over-quarter in Q4, followed by another 20%+ jump in Q1 2026 before stabilizing later in the year.
⬤ The ripple effects are already being felt across the tech industry. PC manufacturers are signaling that consumers should expect retail prices to climb 15-20% in 2026 as memory costs rise. This ongoing price inflation will impact everything from memory producer revenues to device maker pricing strategies as AI continues gobbling up a larger share of global memory capacity.
Usman Salis
