Collective Wisdom Consulting: Storage prices in the first quarter of 2026 surged unexpectedly, with NAND prices increasing by over 70% quarter-on-quarter.

Qi group consultation releases a price indicator for storage in the first quarter of 2026. In the first quarter of 2026, the global storage chip market, under the dual influence of AI computing power demand and the supply-demand pattern of consumer electronics, exhibits significant features of price rises exceeding expectations and increasing structural differentiation. The demand for AI servers remains strong, coupled with increased uncertainty in consumer demand, leading storage manufacturers to prioritize production capacity towards high-profit products such as HBM and DDR5, resulting in further shrinking of the supply of DRAM and NAND for consumer electronics. At the same time, the inventory levels of storage manufacturers and terminal manufacturers are continuously low, with strong demand for replenishing inventory, further magnifying the market's tight supply gap. According to Qi group consultation data, the price of storage in the first quarter of 2026 has risen more than expected, with the price of consumer electronics storage increasing by over 60% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, and the NAND price rising by over 70% compared to the previous quarter.