Surge in Memory Prices Triggers Industry Crisis
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 23 2026
0mins
Should l Buy MU?
Source: Benzinga
- Surge in Memory Demand: As AI infrastructure's demand for memory skyrockets, analyst firm Counterpoint Research reports a projected 40-50% surge in memory demand for Q4 2025, with a similar increase expected in Q1 2026, leading to rising hardware costs that will impact profit margins across the tech industry.
- Price Increase Trend: TrendForce warns that DRAM price hikes of 50% or more are becoming the norm, affecting not only AI memory but also spilling over into PC RAM and NAND for SSDs, exacerbating market tensions and putting significant financial pressure on smaller PC manufacturers and regional cloud providers.
- Shift to Repairing Devices: Phison Electronics CEO Pua Khein-Seng predicts that consumers may shift towards repairing devices instead of replacing them due to rising costs of new hardware, which will increase demand for repair services and alter consumer purchasing behavior and market dynamics.
- Widespread Industry Impact: While AI giants can absorb drastic memory price fluctuations, smaller hardware brands and regional cloud providers struggle to cope, resulting in widespread hardware price increases, with laptops, SSDs, and gaming hardware all seeing rising costs, reflecting a real-time shift in the economics of computing.
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Analyst Views on MU
Wall Street analysts forecast MU stock price to fall
26 Analyst Rating
24 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 367.850
Low
235.00
Averages
336.12
High
500.00
Current: 367.850
Low
235.00
Averages
336.12
High
500.00
About MU
Micron Technology, Inc. provides memory and storage solutions. The Company delivers a portfolio of high-performance dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND, and NOR memory and storage products through its Micron and Crucial brands. The Company's products enable advancing in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications. Its segments include Cloud Memory Business Unit (CMBU), Core Data Center Business Unit (CDBU), Mobile and Client Business Unit (MCBU) and Automotive and Embedded Business Unit (AEBU). CMBU is focused on memory solutions for large hyperscale cloud customers, and high bandwidth memory (HBM) for all data center customers. CDBU is focused on memory solutions for mid-tier cloud, enterprise, and OEM data center customers and storage solutions for all data center customers. MCBU is focused on memory and storage solutions for mobile and client segments. AEBU is focused on memory and storage solutions for the automotive, industrial, and consumer segments.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Micron Technology's Low Valuation Requires Proof of Growth Potential
- Valuation Analysis: Micron Technology's forward P/E ratio stands at just 3.3 times, despite tripling its quarterly revenue and increasing gross margin from 36.8% to 74.4%, indicating a significant undervaluation; however, market confidence in its future growth remains to be proven.
- Market Cyclicality: Micron's primary business, DRAM, accounts for 80% of its revenue and has historically experienced significant cyclical fluctuations; while the rise of AI has boosted DRAM demand, the company must demonstrate structural growth drivers to sustain its valuation.
- Growing HBM Demand: The surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) linked to AI chip growth has created a DRAM market shortage, driving up Micron's revenue and gross margin, yet the sustainability of this growth remains uncertain.
- Long-term Contract Strategy: Micron is working to secure long-term agreements with HBM customers to mitigate business cyclicality; if it can successfully transition into a long-term AI infrastructure winner, a tripling of its stock price by 2030 is feasible, but this requires enhanced stability and market trust.
See More
Google's Breakthrough Algorithm Shakes Memory Chip Market
- Memory Demand Shift: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces memory requirements for generative AI models by six times, triggering nearly a 20% drop in Micron and Sandisk stocks, indicating a drastic shift in market expectations for memory prices.
- Overreaction in Market: While efficiency gains may increase demand, Micron projects the high-bandwidth memory market to grow from $35 billion to $100 billion, suggesting that supply constraints remain, and the current stock decline could represent a buying opportunity.
- Open Source Impact: By open-sourcing the TurboQuant algorithm, Google allows all AI companies to leverage this breakthrough, potentially increasing demand for memory chips and further impacting market prices and supply chains.
- Cautious Investor Approach: Despite the panic triggered by TurboQuant news, investors should monitor consumer memory prices to assess whether Micron faces risks of falling product prices, remaining vigilant in their investment strategies.
See More
Google Breakthrough Triggers Memory Stock Sell-off
- Significant Memory Demand Reduction: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces the memory required for generative AI by six times, leading to a nearly 20% drop in Micron's stock price and shaking confidence across the memory chip sector.
- Overreaction in the Market: Despite the potential for increased demand due to efficiency gains, the market's bearish reaction towards Micron seems excessive, especially as the company projects the high-bandwidth memory market to grow from $35 billion to $100 billion, indicating robust future demand.
- Impact of Jevons Paradox: As memory becomes more efficient, demand may actually rise, suggesting that Micron's market position might not be fundamentally threatened, potentially presenting a buying opportunity for investors.
- Cautious Investor Approach: While the TurboQuant breakthrough is significant, investors should monitor consumer memory prices to assess the risk of falling prices for Micron, remaining vigilant to avoid potential losses.
See More
Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Triggers Memory Chip Market Volatility
- Algorithm Efficiency Boost: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces memory usage by at least 6x and speeds up processing by up to 8x without any accuracy loss, potentially decreasing memory demand by 83%.
- Market Reaction: Following this announcement, shares of memory chipmakers Micron Technology and Sandisk fell by 10% and 14%, respectively, as investors feared a significant drop in demand, although some experts caution that these fears may be overblown.
- Historical Insight: The Jevons Paradox suggests that increased efficiency can lower costs and ultimately increase demand; historical examples, such as improved fuel efficiency in cars leading to higher fuel consumption, indicate that memory chip demand may not decline as expected.
- Investment Opportunity: Despite the initial pullback in Micron and Sandisk stocks, analysts believe that the launch of TurboQuant will drive further AI adoption and strengthen demand for memory chips, with Mizuho analysts reiterating their outperform ratings, suggesting this is a buying opportunity.
See More
Google's Algorithm Causes Plunge in Micron and Sandisk Stocks
- Stock Plunge: Google's introduction of the TurboQuant algorithm led to a 10% drop in Micron and a 14% drop in Sandisk shares, as investors feared that the AI breakthrough would drastically reduce demand for memory chips, impacting future revenues.
- Historical Lessons: The Jevons Paradox suggests that increased efficiency in resource use can actually lead to higher demand; historically, coal consumption rose despite efficiency improvements, indicating a potential similar outcome for the memory chip market.
- Analyst Optimism: Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh reiterated his outperform ratings on Micron and Sandisk, arguing that the launch of TurboQuant will drive AI adoption and strengthen demand for memory chips, highlighting potential market opportunities.
- Positive Financial Outlook: Micron forecasts Q3 revenue of $33.5 billion, representing a 260% year-over-year growth, with gross margins expected to increase by 660 basis points to about 81%, indicating strong growth potential despite market skepticism.
See More
Google Unveils TurboQuant Algorithm, Significantly Enhancing AI Efficiency
- Algorithm Efficiency Boost: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces memory usage by at least 6x and delivers up to 8x speedup with zero accuracy loss, potentially decreasing memory demand by 83%, thereby redefining AI efficiency.
- Market Reaction: Following this announcement, shares of memory chipmakers Micron Technology and Sandisk fell by 10% and 14%, respectively, as investors feared a significant drop in demand, reflecting market panic over Google's AI breakthrough.
- Historical Insight: The Jevons Paradox suggests that increased efficiency in resource use can lower costs and subsequently increase demand; historical examples, such as improved fuel efficiency in cars leading to higher fuel consumption, indicate that current market fears may be overstated.
- Analyst Perspective: Mizuho analyst reiterated outperform ratings on Micron and Sandisk, positing that TurboQuant's performance improvements will drive further AI adoption and strengthen demand for memory chips, despite potential short-term price pressures.
See More
Micron Technology's Low Valuation Requires Proof of Growth Potential
- Valuation Analysis: Micron Technology's forward P/E ratio stands at just 3.3 times, despite tripling its quarterly revenue and increasing gross margin from 36.8% to 74.4%, indicating a significant undervaluation; however, market confidence in its future growth remains to be proven.
- Market Cyclicality: Micron's primary business, DRAM, accounts for 80% of its revenue and has historically experienced significant cyclical fluctuations; while the rise of AI has boosted DRAM demand, the company must demonstrate structural growth drivers to sustain its valuation.
- Growing HBM Demand: The surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) linked to AI chip growth has created a DRAM market shortage, driving up Micron's revenue and gross margin, yet the sustainability of this growth remains uncertain.
- Long-term Contract Strategy: Micron is working to secure long-term agreements with HBM customers to mitigate business cyclicality; if it can successfully transition into a long-term AI infrastructure winner, a tripling of its stock price by 2030 is feasible, but this requires enhanced stability and market trust.
See More
Google's Breakthrough Algorithm Shakes Memory Chip Market
- Memory Demand Shift: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces memory requirements for generative AI models by six times, triggering nearly a 20% drop in Micron and Sandisk stocks, indicating a drastic shift in market expectations for memory prices.
- Overreaction in Market: While efficiency gains may increase demand, Micron projects the high-bandwidth memory market to grow from $35 billion to $100 billion, suggesting that supply constraints remain, and the current stock decline could represent a buying opportunity.
- Open Source Impact: By open-sourcing the TurboQuant algorithm, Google allows all AI companies to leverage this breakthrough, potentially increasing demand for memory chips and further impacting market prices and supply chains.
- Cautious Investor Approach: Despite the panic triggered by TurboQuant news, investors should monitor consumer memory prices to assess whether Micron faces risks of falling product prices, remaining vigilant in their investment strategies.
See More
Google Breakthrough Triggers Memory Stock Sell-off
- Significant Memory Demand Reduction: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces the memory required for generative AI by six times, leading to a nearly 20% drop in Micron's stock price and shaking confidence across the memory chip sector.
- Overreaction in the Market: Despite the potential for increased demand due to efficiency gains, the market's bearish reaction towards Micron seems excessive, especially as the company projects the high-bandwidth memory market to grow from $35 billion to $100 billion, indicating robust future demand.
- Impact of Jevons Paradox: As memory becomes more efficient, demand may actually rise, suggesting that Micron's market position might not be fundamentally threatened, potentially presenting a buying opportunity for investors.
- Cautious Investor Approach: While the TurboQuant breakthrough is significant, investors should monitor consumer memory prices to assess the risk of falling prices for Micron, remaining vigilant to avoid potential losses.
See More
Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Triggers Memory Chip Market Volatility
- Algorithm Efficiency Boost: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces memory usage by at least 6x and speeds up processing by up to 8x without any accuracy loss, potentially decreasing memory demand by 83%.
- Market Reaction: Following this announcement, shares of memory chipmakers Micron Technology and Sandisk fell by 10% and 14%, respectively, as investors feared a significant drop in demand, although some experts caution that these fears may be overblown.
- Historical Insight: The Jevons Paradox suggests that increased efficiency can lower costs and ultimately increase demand; historical examples, such as improved fuel efficiency in cars leading to higher fuel consumption, indicate that memory chip demand may not decline as expected.
- Investment Opportunity: Despite the initial pullback in Micron and Sandisk stocks, analysts believe that the launch of TurboQuant will drive further AI adoption and strengthen demand for memory chips, with Mizuho analysts reiterating their outperform ratings, suggesting this is a buying opportunity.
See More
Google's Algorithm Causes Plunge in Micron and Sandisk Stocks
- Stock Plunge: Google's introduction of the TurboQuant algorithm led to a 10% drop in Micron and a 14% drop in Sandisk shares, as investors feared that the AI breakthrough would drastically reduce demand for memory chips, impacting future revenues.
- Historical Lessons: The Jevons Paradox suggests that increased efficiency in resource use can actually lead to higher demand; historically, coal consumption rose despite efficiency improvements, indicating a potential similar outcome for the memory chip market.
- Analyst Optimism: Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh reiterated his outperform ratings on Micron and Sandisk, arguing that the launch of TurboQuant will drive AI adoption and strengthen demand for memory chips, highlighting potential market opportunities.
- Positive Financial Outlook: Micron forecasts Q3 revenue of $33.5 billion, representing a 260% year-over-year growth, with gross margins expected to increase by 660 basis points to about 81%, indicating strong growth potential despite market skepticism.
See More
Google Unveils TurboQuant Algorithm, Significantly Enhancing AI Efficiency
- Algorithm Efficiency Boost: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces memory usage by at least 6x and delivers up to 8x speedup with zero accuracy loss, potentially decreasing memory demand by 83%, thereby redefining AI efficiency.
- Market Reaction: Following this announcement, shares of memory chipmakers Micron Technology and Sandisk fell by 10% and 14%, respectively, as investors feared a significant drop in demand, reflecting market panic over Google's AI breakthrough.
- Historical Insight: The Jevons Paradox suggests that increased efficiency in resource use can lower costs and subsequently increase demand; historical examples, such as improved fuel efficiency in cars leading to higher fuel consumption, indicate that current market fears may be overstated.
- Analyst Perspective: Mizuho analyst reiterated outperform ratings on Micron and Sandisk, positing that TurboQuant's performance improvements will drive further AI adoption and strengthen demand for memory chips, despite potential short-term price pressures.
See More
