Overview
- Apple, following Thursday's earnings call, said memory expenses will be significantly higher in the June quarter and will increasingly weigh on results after its stockpiled parts run down.
- Samsung warned its supply falls far short of orders and said the 2027 gap will be wider than in 2026, with SK hynix giving a similar outlook and fulfillment rates sinking to record lows.
- Chipmakers cite explosive orders for AI servers using high‑bandwidth memory—specialized DRAM for accelerators—which is soaking up capacity as customers reserve years of supply in advance.
- Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are adding fabs and advanced packaging capacity, including recent investments in Xi'an, Wuxi, and Dalian, but long build times mean little near‑term relief.
- Consumers could see higher prices or leaner RAM options on devices, and availability may tighten further, with risks compounded by a reported Samsung union strike planned for May 21.