Late‑Night Broad Rally As Chip Sector Receives Major Boost: Price Hikes Announced

Following reports of significant price increases, U.S. storage‑chip names rallied broadly after the market opened tonight, with Micron Technology and SanDisk each advancing more than 5%. Industry sources indicate that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have concluded negotiations with Apple and will substantially raise prices for the LPDDR modules supplied for iPhones in the first quarter; Samsung’s quoted increase exceeds 80% quarter‑on‑quarter, while SK Hynix’s rise approaches 100%.

Concurrently, A‑share chip manufacturer Zhongwei Semiconductor issued a formal price‑adjustment notice. The company cited industry‑wide supply tightness, rising input costs and extended delivery cycles for packaged products, together with higher expenses for frames and testing, as the basis for an immediate price increase of 15%–50% on MCU and NorFlash product lines.

Domestic storage‑chip equities also posted strong gains on the day. By market close, Dongxin Co. hit the 20% daily limit, while Purui Co., ChipSource Micro, Xingfu Electronics, Juguang Technology, Fuman Micro and Hengshuo Co. each rose more than 10%. Kangqiang Electronics reached its 10% limit‑up, and Zhongwei Semiconductor, GigaDevice, Beijing Junzheng and Maiwei Co. recorded notable advances.

After U.S. markets opened on the evening of January 27 Beijing time, storage‑chip stocks in the United States strengthened across the board. Micron Technology and SanDisk led the move with intraday gains above 5%, Western Digital climbed more than 2% and Seagate Technology rose nearly 2%. Micron announced a USD 24 billion additional investment in Singapore over the next decade to build a new NAND flash wafer fab, described as Singapore’s first double‑deck facility with a 700,000‑square‑foot cleanroom, targeted to begin wafer production in the second half of 2028. The company has previously launched a USD 100 billion project in New York State to address what it termed “unprecedented supply tightness.”

South Korean media reported that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have agreed with Apple on substantial LPDDR price increases for first‑quarter shipments, with Samsung’s offer up more than 80% and SK Hynix’s near 100% versus the prior quarter. LPDDR, a lower‑power variant of DRAM widely used in smartphones, is currently dominated by the LPDDR5X generation, and Apple is a major customer. Industry participants noted that Apple typically signs annual long‑term supply agreements, but amid the current memory supply crisis only first‑half pricing has been finalized; further increases are possible when new products are introduced later in the year. Reports indicate that the iPhone 17 Air, Pro and Pro Max models are equipped with 12GB of LPDDR5X memory, up from 8GB in the iPhone 15 and 16 series, and that Samsung has secured a 60%–70% share of LPDDR supply for the iPhone 17 series.

Market observers at Guosheng Electronics highlighted that with original‑equipment manufacturers’ inventories depleted, any meaningful increase in shipments will depend on wafer fabs raising output, which will further tighten supply. They expect server DRAM prices to be actively increased in the first quarter, with quarter‑on‑quarter uplifts potentially exceeding 60%.

As the AI investment cycle accelerates, concerns are growing that memory shortages may persist longer than anticipated. Large‑scale capital deployment into data‑center infrastructure has driven unprecedented demand for memory chips, lifting semiconductor prices to record levels and creating a dynamic likely to continue through the year. On January 26 U.S. time, Wisconsin authorities approved Microsoft’s plan to build 15 new data centers and expand existing facilities in Mount Pleasant, with a pre‑tax value exceeding USD 13 billion, underscoring the intensifying AI infrastructure build‑out.

Sassine Ghazi, Chief Executive Officer of Synopsys, observed that the memory shortage is expected to continue into 2026 and 2027. He noted that a large portion of memory production from leading manufacturers is being allocated to AI infrastructure, leaving other end markets constrained by limited capacity. Although Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron are expanding production, Ghazi emphasized that achieving meaningful capacity increases will take at least two years, which contributes to the persistence of the shortage. He described the current environment as a “golden period” for memory suppliers and warned that rising memory costs are already prompting consumer‑electronics companies to consider passing through higher prices to end customers.