Samsung Electronics and SK hynix face a buyer backlash over memory pricing in a cyclical business. Elon Musk called Micron reasonable about future prices and other suppliers extortionate, warning customers would remember; the remarks seem aimed at Samsung and SK hynix. Micron appears to be focusing on long-term contracts. x.com  x.com  x.com 

SK hynix and other Korean memory makers' aggressive price hikes invite customers to optimize memory use, undermining the case for 90% margins despite a long-term shortage. Memory is the only layer raising cost per token. Elon Musk described Micron's future pricing as reasonable and other suppliers' as extortionate, warning that today's customers would not forget; exorbitant long-term contracts compound that risk. x.com  x.com 

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.com 

Inflation, rising rates, Chinese competition and rising AI-related financial costs are pressuring the memory market. Micron, Samsung and SK hynix look exposed; waiting for the cycle to turn. x.com  x.com 

SK hynix should reprice strongly because its blowout earnings make the case that memory is structurally different now. At the current earnings pace, it would earn back its entire market cap in two years; buybacks and dividends also return cash to shareholders and add to value. x.com 

SK hynix's enforceable long-term supply commitments add visibility to memory profits. It says DRAM and HBM volumes through 2029 are effectively sold out, with agreements covering over half of 2027-28 capacity while retaining pricing flexibility. Operating profit beat expectations at $62.8B versus about $58B, and SK hynix announced $75B in 2026 shareholder returns. It expects the memory shortage to persist through 2030. x.com 

SK hynix looks like the weakest storage short because it has fallen behind. More negative news may follow beyond HBM4; its LPDDR6 is reportedly well behind Samsung's. x.com  x.com 

Samsung Electronics' HBM4 pricing looks set to lead the memory Big Three, helping make next year's earnings phenomenal. Samsung memory EVP Jaejune Kim said next year's HBM supply is sold out at target prices, with more customer requests coming. Korean media had reported quotes in the mid-to-high $4/Gb range; Nvidia appears to have accepted Samsung's asking price. Samsung-equipped Rubin variants should sell as separate premium-priced SKUs against SK hynix or Micron versions. x.com 

More memory CapEx may yield proportionally fewer bits as HBM consumes more wafer capacity, supporting SK hynix and Samsung's pricing. Both reported double-digit quarterly DRAM and NAND price gains; Samsung targets 60-70% of mid- to long-term capacity under LTAs. SK hynix has the stronger execution record, but Samsung could benefit enormously from conventional memory without winning HBM4. If trends persist, normalized margins could rise, though memory remains cyclical. x.com 

Memory stocks face huge downside because memory is a commodity, and today's undersupply will turn to oversupply as capex rises. Demand is inelastic, so suppliers have pricing power only while undersupplied; Samsung, SK hynix and Micron are all raising capex, and China's big DRAM expansion will ease shortages across the chain. Stocks peak before financials weaken, DRAM prices are already falling, and customers are optimizing memory use, so low P/Es offer no protection. x.com