Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jun 18
Memory Stocks Jump Up to 10% as Apple Warns Chip-Driven Price Hikes Are Unavoidable
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jun 18

Memory Stocks Jump Up to 10% as Apple Warns Chip-Driven Price Hikes Are Unavoidable

3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jun 18

Summary

  • SanDisk rose 10%, Micron and Western Digital 7%, SK Hynix 6% and Samsung 4.5% after Tim Cook said Apple can no longer absorb soaring memory and storage costs.
  • Cook told the Wall Street Journal the supply crunch remains severe and price increases have become "unsustainable," reinforcing the view that demand is still outstripping supply.
  • September could bring the clearest consumer impact: Wedbush's Dan Ives said higher component costs may show up when Apple launches the iPhone 18 lineup.
  • AI-driven demand already pushed memory shares sharply higher in May, and investors now see Apple's warning as evidence the shortage could spread price pressure across smartphones, PCs and other hardware.

Insights

As AI consumes the world's memory supply, will affordable smartphones and PCs become a luxury?
Has the AI boom permanently ended the memory chip industry's historic boom-and-bust cycle?
Could software breakthroughs make the multi-billion dollar bet on new chip factories obsolete?