Trump Raises Tariffs on South Korea to 25%, Impacting Memory Chip Market

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

MU+5.44%

SNDK+2.26%

SNPS-0.06%

Source: Benzinga

Updated: 9h ago

0mins

Source: Benzinga

Tariff Increase: Trump raised tariffs on autos, lumber, and pharmaceuticals from 15% to 25% due to South Korea's legislature failing to approve a trade agreement, potentially exacerbating vulnerabilities in the global memory chip supply chain.
Market Surge: Despite the tariff hike, South Korean equities surged, with the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF rising over 3%, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw their shares increase by 4.9% and 8.7%, respectively, reaching record highs.
Memory Chip Price Surge: Industry data indicates DRAM prices have risen by 171% year-over-year, with DDR5 spot prices quadrupling since September 2025, highlighting an unprecedented squeeze in the global memory market.
Supply Shortage Outlook: Analysts predict the memory chip shortage will persist through 2026 and 2027, and Trump's tariff policy may further increase costs for downstream industries, complicating budget planning for U.S. corporations.

$410.24+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on MU

Wall Street analysts forecast MU stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for MU is 336.12 USD with a low forecast of 235.00 USD and a high forecast of 500.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

26 Analyst Rating

24 Buy

2 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 389.090

Low

235.00

Averages

336.12

High

500.00

Current: 389.090

Low

235.00

Averages

336.12

High

500.00

Mizuho

Outperform

upgrade

$390 -> $480

2026-01-27

New

Reason

Mizuho

Price Target

$390 -> $480

AI Analysis

2026-01-27

New

upgrade

Outperform

Reason

Mizuho raised the firm's price target on Micron to $480 from $390 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm believes pricing tailwinds in the legacy DRAM and NAND markets will drive better sales and margins in 2026 for the memory group. Mizuho expects no new NAND wafer capacity in 2026 and 2027 as NAND demand expands over 20% in 2026. Annualized NAND pricing is estimated to be up 330% year-over-year in 2026 and 50% in 2027 with tight supply as AI server demand accelerates, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm upped price targets in memory as a result.

William Blair

Outperform

initiated

2026-01-22

Reason

William Blair

Price Target

2026-01-22

initiated

Outperform

Reason

William Blair initiated coverage of Micron with an Outperform rating and no price target. The firm says the memory "supercycle" is driving record profitability for Micron. The company servers as one of the three major global memory suppliers and access to memory has "become a key bottleneck" in AI racks and systems, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Blair believes Micron will benefit from significant selling price growth and higher margin products. It expects the company to grow non-GAAP earnings over 275% over the next two years.

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Stifel

Brian Chin

Buy

maintain

$300 -> $360

2026-01-20

Reason

Stifel

Brian Chin

Price Target

$300 -> $360

2026-01-20

maintain

Buy

Reason

Stifel analyst Brian Chin raised the firm's price target on Micron to $360 from $300 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company announced its acquisition of a semiconductor wafer fabrication site from Powerchip Semiconductor in Taiwan for $1.8B. The firm, which notes there are no changes to its modeling, remains "upbeat" on the persistence of favorably tight memory market conditions through and beyond FY26.

TD Cowen

Buy

upgrade

$300 -> $450

2026-01-20

Reason

TD Cowen

Price Target

$300 -> $450

2026-01-20

upgrade

Buy

Reason

TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on Micron to $450 from $300 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm says memory shortages are worsening, not improving. TD sees see further upside to Micron's 2026 earnings power. TD's work suggests DRAM and NAND shortages are worsening, supporting a firmer pricing outlook into the second half of 2026, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm thinks Micron shares may continue to outperform peers in the near term.

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 Compute and Networking Business Unit (CNBU), Mobile Business Unit (MBU), Embedded Business Unit (EBU), and Storage Business Unit (SBU). CNBU segment includes memory products and solutions sold into the data center, PC, graphics, and networking markets. MBU segment includes memory and storage products sold into the smartphone and other mobile-device markets. EBU segment includes memory and storage products and solutions sold into the intelligent edge through the automotive, industrial, and consumer embedded markets. SBU segment includes SSDs and component-level storage solutions sold into the data center, PC, and consumer markets.

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.