Just when you thought memory could not get worse, analysts reckon DRAM prices will spike by 70 per cent in the first quarter as chipmakers shove capacity towards AI server parts and away from consumer gear.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are reportedly planning to increase server memory prices by up to 70 per cent this quarter. After 50 per cent jumps in 2025, that path points to near-doubling by mid-2026.
Those two Korean heavyweights, plus US-based Micron, control most of the world’s memory output. All three are pushing advanced production into higher-margin server DRAM and HBM for AI infrastructure, tightening supply for PCs and smartphones.
According to the Korea Economic Daily, forecasts are already being tweaked upward as analysts pencil in fatter profits from the AI infrastructure binge. Taiwan-based research firm TrendForce says conventional DRAM prices jumped by 55 to 60 per cent in a single quarter.
Even the server parts are not flowing freely, with supplier inventories declining and shipment growth tied to increases in wafer output, TrendForce said. It expects server DRAM prices to jump by more than 60 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
Before Christmas, IDC flagged the “unprecedented” memory chip shortage and warned the pain could echo through manufacturers and end users well into 2027.
The outfit said: “The memory market is at an inflexion point, with demand materially outpacing supply,” arguing this crunch is not the usual boom-and-bust lark. AI is guzzling memory, and hyperscalers like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are shifting wafer allocation away from phones and PCs.
IDC expects DRAM and NAND supply growth of just 16 and 17 per cent this year, well below historical norms, which is not exactly the kind of headroom that calms anyone down.
Reuters says shares in the big memory makers are climbing as investors smell more price rises, with Micron up 240 per cent last year, Samsung more than doubling and SK hynix’s market cap nearly quadrupling. Economists are now warning that AI infrastructure spending could stoke broader inflation once these costs start seeping into other areas.
