All articles tagged with #nand
Counterpoint Research estimates the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s 1TB BOM will jump by nearly $300 due to rising NAND and DRAM costs, with the 2nm SoC packaging as a major driver; display and other parts may fall while camera costs rise slightly with new tech. Apple is expected to raise prices by about $200 on average across storage variants, leading to slimmer margins this year.
Rumors suggest Apple’s A20 Pro for the iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max will switch from a 64-bit LPDDR5X to a 96-bit LPDDR6 memory interface, potentially boosting on‑device memory bandwidth and AI performance, while the 1TB/2TB variants reportedly use slower QLC NAND to cut costs, with DRAM costs expected to rise for the new devices.
UBS lifts its DRAM and NAND price forecasts amid ongoing memory-supply constraints, predicting DDR contract prices to rise 32% QoQ in Q3 and 18% QoQ in Q4, with NAND up 30% QoQ in Q3 and 12% QoQ in Q4. TrendForce likewise flags persistent shortages, while UBS notes demand growth outpaces supply (roughly 36% vs about 19% for DRAM in 2027), suggesting higher memory prices could persist and drive substantial industry revenue growth into the late 2020s (with price changes varying by product/brand).
Micron Technology rides a surge in AI-driven memory demand, reporting strong quarterly results and guiding toward about $50 billion in revenue next quarter. Demand spans high-bandwidth memory, DRAM, and NAND, with HBM demand expected to remain tight into 2027–28 as customers lock in capacity. Analysts remain broadly bullish (roughly 29 Buy ratings of 30). The key question for investors is whether Micron can sustain earnings growth to justify its rally, since the memory shortage duration will influence future upside.
Micron Technology shattered expectations with fiscal Q3 revenue of $41.5 billion (well above the ~$33.5 billion consensus) and guided for about $50 billion in Q4, driven by unprecedented demand for DRAM and NAND from data-center build-outs and ongoing AI-related spending. With supply tight and prices rising, the stock has jumped roughly 272% since the start of 2026. Management cautions that tight conditions could persist beyond 2027, but analysts still see upside as memory demand remains robust and valuation appears modest relative to forward earnings, despite potential volatility in the shares.
After Micron’s blowout earnings, Sandisk is seen as a major winner as AI infrastructure spurs demand for NAND flash memory. Sandisk reported higher year‑over‑year and sequential growth than Micron in its latest quarter, and although its stock has a richer valuation, its fundamentals support potential continued momentum into August with the possibility of multi‑year contracts similar to Micron’s.
Micron posted a record quarter with an 84.9% gross margin and disclosed 16 strategic customer agreements covering roughly $100 billion of DRAM/NAND volume, with floor margins well above prior peaks. This signals AI-era pricing power in memory that could pressure Apple’s hardware margins as the iPhone 17/18 cycle hits a tight memory market, while Apple’s Services and large buyback cushion mitigate some risk.
Lenovo warned at ISC in Germany that DRAM and NAND memory prices may never return to pre-crisis levels, potentially becoming the new normal into 2030 and beyond; the article also lists global gaming-hardware price hikes, with Xbox Series S up to $500, Series X up to $800, PS5 Digital Edition up to $600 and disc version up to $650 (PS5 Pro $900), and Nintendo Switch 2 priced at $500, alongside price rises for Switch 1 models (Lite $230, base $340, OLED $400).
Micron Technology heads into its upcoming earnings with investors watching whether the AI memory boom can sustain momentum into 2027 and beyond. Analysts forecast about $35.25 billion in revenue and $20.28 per-share for Q3, marking a roughly 279% year-over-year jump, driven by strong DRAM pricing, tight industry capacity, and robust AI demand; key focus will be on DRAM/NAND pricing and capacity commitments for 2027–28 to gauge the durability of the AI memory upswing.
Apple indicated memory cost increases are unavoidable, signaling a pass-through to products and lifting memory-name stocks like SanDisk and Micron. TrendForce data show memory contract prices surged >100% in the first half of 2026 amid tight NAND/DRAM supply driven by AI demand, with analysts saying Apple can no longer absorb higher memory costs. The rally reflects a broader memory supercycle, though how price hikes affect Apple’s volumes remains a key question ahead of the iPhone 18 launch.
Memory-component prices surged during AI infrastructure build-out and had begun normalizing, but Samsung’s labor strikes disrupted DRAM and NAND supply and could push prices higher again. New frontier AI models with larger context windows are expected to keep demand inelastic for DRAM/NAND, supporting a bullish outlook for Micron (MU) and Sandisk (SNDK).
Micron Technology (MU) stock surged to a record in pre-market trading, up about 5% as investors price in AI‑driven memory demand and improving pricing for DRAM and NAND. The rally has pushed MU up over 100% year-to-date and past intraday highs, aided by stronger sentiment from NAND peers like SNDK and bullish analyst views (DA Davidson targets $1,000; average price target around $574.67 with 27 Buys and 3 Holds). The narrative centers on rising memory demand from AI deployments and a memory cycle likely to support higher pricing across the sector.
TurboQuant reduces KV-cache needs by at least 6x for AI inference but does not ease persistent SSD storage demand, leaving Sandisk’s NAND thesis intact. The stock pullback appears headline-driven with unchanged revenue/EPS outlooks for the next four years. Sandisk’s AI storage story is still in early stages (datacenter revenue ~15% of sales, with strong recent growth), so near-term volatility is likely, but the author expects SNDK to retest highs in H2 as capital rotates from DRAM names.
SanDisk (SNDK) slid about 7% after Google's TurboQuant AI compression tech raised questions about future memory demand; the stock had also fallen following a $1B investment in Nanya Technology. Bank of America’s Wamsi Mohan remains constructive on NAND demand, citing hyperscalers and AI workloads, and notes SanDisk’s move toward longer-term, higher-margin contracts that could sustain growth. He carries a Buy rating with a $900 target, while the broader Street shows a Positive tilt with a Strong Buy consensus and upside potential. The key takeaway is that near-term volatility driven by AI efficiency chatter masks a still intact longer-term NAND demand story.
Micron’s results show price-driven growth in DRAM and NAND driven by AI infrastructure demand, with DRAM up mid-60% and NAND up high-70% year over year, pushing gross margins toward 80% as supply remains tight; strategic 5-year contracts improve revenue visibility and AI-driven memory needs in servers, workstations, and high-memory devices expand the market beyond a traditional cycle. Despite solid fundamentals, MU trades around 7.9x FY2026 EPS and 4.8x FY2027 EPS, which the author views as a mispricing: an AI infrastructure stock rather than a pure memory cyclicality play.