Apple Faces Unsustainable Memory Price Surge as AI Hyperscalers Outbid for Chips

CommodityIndustry Impact 4
โดย FX Empire·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Apple CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal that rising memory and storage prices have become unsustainable, as AI hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon outbid traditional buyers for DRAM and NAND chips. Research firm TechInsights expects prices to keep rising into 2027, while Morgan Stanley projects consumer technology supply will fall up to 15% short of demand. Maintaining margins on the next iPhone Pro could require a roughly $270 price increase, according to TechInsights, at a time when global smartphone average selling prices are forecast to hit a record high in 2026. Cook described the situation as a hundred-year flood and indicated Apple may use its balance sheet to secure supply, though AI firms are locking in multi-year prepayment agreements. Separately, President Trump said Apple and Intel have struck a preliminary manufacturing agreement, which could diversify Apple's foundry exposure but offers little near-term relief for the memory crunch.

Impact on stocks 8

Artificial Intelligence▼ · 4 stocks
Apple Inc.
AAPL
▼ NegativeSupplyrelevance

Memory price surge driven by AI hyperscalers outbidding for chips, squeezing Apple's margins and potentially forcing price hikes.

Quantum Computing▲ · 1 stocks
Semiconductors▲ · 1 stocks
Spatial Computing / AR/VR▲ · 1 stocks
Financials▲ · 1 stocks

Theme Impact 2

Off-coverage companies 1

TechInsights Inc.Private± Mixed
relevance

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