mon
Independent Analyst, High-Risk Small-Cap & Growth Investing
Trump is not going to let Chinese memory chips become serious competitors in the US and West. That makes dips on news out of China a buying opportunity for memory stocks. DRAM fell about 10% in five days, SK hynix over 10% in Korea, Samsung about 7%, and Micron around 5%. RetiringAt54 says CXMT has never mass-produced HBM; this sell-off looks crazy. x.com x.comÂ
Memory stocks should see another bull cycle even if supply catches up over the next 3-5 years, because demand will have expanded into new AI devices. Today's cycle is driven by AI data centers, especially HBM and DRAM, and capacity additions will eventually meet that demand. By then, smart glasses, AI wearables, autonomous robots and humanoids, all still early in adoption and all memory-hungry, should drive the next major cycle. x.comÂ
Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix look very cheap if their long-term agreements do not impose overly conservative price ceilings. Greater clarity on those pricing terms could send memory stocks up 30% in a single day. x.comÂ
China is not doing as well as many think, and its memory-production ramp is only potential. Micron, SK hynix and the DRAM ETF look insanely cheap. A quoted StockSavvyShay post reports Elon Musk's view that memory shortages will worsen in 2027, while Chinese LPDDR production might ramp in 2028 and HBM remains harder to scale. x.comÂ
Buying the DRAM dip looks too risky now because CXMT's ambitious next-generation 4F plan and SK hynix's aggressive production expansion raise supply concerns for memory stocks such as Micron, SK hynix and Samsung. CXMT is unlikely to become a serious competitive threat, but it could still weigh on storage-stock sentiment. x.com x.comÂ
Micron's China sales risk shifting to CXMT as its domestic DRAM capacity grows. Mainland sales more than tripled to $8.3B during the shortage, mostly standard DRAM that CXMT already makes; including Hong Kong, Micron booked $14.6B, 11% of FY2026 revenue. CXMT already has roughly a third of Micron's revenue, and Reuters said its server DDR5 was priced above Samsung's. Micron is the only American maker among the three ahead of CXMT; buyers drawn by supply could switch as it expands. x.com x.comÂ
Rising memory contract prices strengthen the case for memory stocks still far below their highs. JPMorgan forecasts Q4 DRAM prices up 13% and NAND up 18%; Micron is 28% below its 52-week high, Seagate 44%, Sandisk 47% and Western Digital 55%. x.comÂ
China's domestic market lets YMTC and CXMT threaten Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix without entering US products. China receives 15-25% of smartphones and PCs and is on a path to at least 20-30% memory share over the next several years; current leaders are much too optimistic. History suggests at least a near-term semiconductor rally even if the AI trade has topped. It likely has not: agentic AI should give the trade room to run into 2027. x.com x.com x.comÂ
Prepaid contracts and demand-paced fabs weaken a broad 2028 memory-glut case. SK hynix says over half its 2027-28 capacity is signed with deposits; 'sold out through 2029' includes negotiations. Samsung targets 60-70% contracted capacity. Micron's three projects begin output in 2H28; tooling follows demand. Reuters says CXMT's 20-30%-yield HBM3E may ship this year to export-restricted Chinese buyers, but performs like older HBM3. Commodity DRAM risks 2028-29 oversupply; NAND could ease in 2H27. … Show more
SK hynix's strong pricing and secured capacity could push memory stocks higher. Per Wall St Engine, its Q3 DRAM ASP rose by a high-20s percentage quarter over quarter, while long-term agreements cover more than half of its 2027-28 capacity. Those figures support the memory upcycle. x.comÂ
Chinese memory makers YMTC and CXMT are using the AI-driven shortage to build a bigger competitive threat to Micron, Samsung and SK hynix. Per DigiTimes, both are scaling capacity with state backing to gain share; they are making inroads in PCs, and CXMT reportedly plans to ramp HBM3 later this year. The worst shortages ever seen have lifted prices only temporarily. Legacy DRAM makers face demand and supply pressure, and the market will eventually discount a far more competitive market. x.comÂ
CXMT's refusal to sell DDR5 to a Taiwanese server maker adds evidence that it will not flood the memory market with cheap supply and pressure prices for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Per Taiwanese media, a veteran industry analyst also said Apple found CXMT's memory as expensive as the three major suppliers' and that CXMT had no intention of lowering prices. x.comÂ
