General-purpose PC and server DRAM contract prices rose 93-98% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, with a further 58-63% increase forecast for the second quarterCITE:E1.
Both figures are contract-price, quarter-on-quarter readings rather than spot prices or year-on-year comparisons, and the pace of increase is among the steepest seen in recent yearsCITE:E1.
Memory makers have redirected production capacity toward HBM and server applications and locked up a portion of supply through long-term agreements, while meaningful new capacity is not expected until the end of 2027CITE:E2.
That shift has left HBM effectively sold out: all three major memory makers have sold out their entire 2026 HBM supply, and Micron's HBM3E and HBM4 pricing and volumes are locked in, with orders filled through calendar 2027 and demand extending into 2028CITE:E4.
NAND Flash contract prices are forecast to rise 70-75% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026, showing the current surge extends beyond DRAM into NAND as wellCITE:E3.
SK Hynix's second-quarter 2026 revenue grew 257% year-on-year, and Micron's fiscal third-quarter revenue reached a record $41.46 billion, up about 346% year-on-year, with both companies attributing the growth to HBM and AI server demandCITE:E5.
| Metric | Period | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| General DRAM contract price, QoQ | Q1 2026 | +93% to +98% | CITE:E1 |
| General DRAM contract price, QoQ (forecast) | Q2 2026 | +58% to +63% | CITE:E1 |
| NAND Flash contract price, QoQ (forecast) | Q2 2026 | +70% to +75% | CITE:E3 |
| SK Hynix revenue, YoY | Q2 2026 | +257% | CITE:E5 |
| Micron revenue (fiscal Q3) | FQ3 | $41.46 billion, +346% YoY | CITE:E5 |
| HBM3E bandwidth | per stack | ~1.2 TB/s | CITE:E6 |
| HBM4 bandwidth | per stack | 2 TB/s | CITE:E6 |
HBM bandwidth has jumped from about 1.2 TB/s per stack on HBM3E to 2 TB/s per stack on HBM4, the standard JEDEC finalized in 2025, with all three major memory makers moving into HBM4 mass production during 2026CITE:E6.
SK Hynix frames the current cycle as structurally driven by AI demand rather than the inventory-driven supply cycles of the past, pointing to a jump in the amount of memory required per unit of computingCITE:E7.
SK Hynix also notes that after memory makers cut capital spending sharply during the 2022-23 downturn, new capacity now takes 18-24 months to come online, making supply slower to respond to the current demandCITE:E7.
The revenue gains at SK Hynix and MicronCITE:E5 line up with the contract-price data for both DRAM and NANDCITE:E1CITE:E3 and with the sold-out HBM allocations through 2027-2028CITE:E4: pricing power currently sits with memory makers because capacity has been redirected toward HBM and locked in through long-term agreementsCITE:E2. Because new capacity takes 18-24 months to build following the 2022-23 capital-spending cuts, and meaningful additions are not expected before the end of 2027CITE:E2CITE:E7, the tightness reflected in the already-quoted Q1-Q2 2026 contract prices is unlikely to ease within that windowCITE:E1CITE:E3.
General-purpose PC and server DRAM contract prices rose 93-98% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, with a further 58-63% increase forecast for the …
Memory makers have redirected production capacity toward HBM and server applications and locked up a portion of supply through long-term agreements, while meani…
NAND Flash contract prices are forecast to rise 70-75% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026, showing the current surge extends beyond DRAM into NAND…
SK Hynix's second-quarter 2026 revenue grew 257% year-on-year, and Micron's fiscal third-quarter revenue reached a record $41.
The real signal here is not the headline 93-98% DRAM jump itself, since spot spikes fade; it is that the increase is already showing up as realized revenue, with SK Hynix's 257% year-on-year growth and Micron's $41.46 billion quarter (+346% YoY) confirming buyers are paying up, not just being quoted up. What makes this cycle harder to unwind is the supply side: capacity has been locked into HBM through long-term agreements, and with new capacity needing 18-24 months to come online after the 2022-23 capital-spending cuts, meaningful relief is not due before the end of 2027. The metric worth watching next is whether that 2027 capacity lands on schedule, or whether the HBM4 ramp pulls even more supply away from general-purpose DRAM.
SK Hynix (SK海力士) is planning a ₩10 trillion plant investment in Japan, a move that coincided with gains in two Japan-focused semiconductor ETFs. The plan follows a first half of 2025 in which the company posted ₩39.87 trillion in revenue, ₩15.10 trillion in net profit, and a debt-to-equity ratio that fell to 48.13% from 62.15% at the end of 2024.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is pushing a new round of semiconductor tariffs that would tie tariff-free import quotas to how much chip manufacturing a company commits to build inside the United States, a design that could extend duties beyond the advanced processors already taxed since January 2026 to AI servers, laptops and gaming consoles.
Taiwan's benchmark TAIEX closed at 46,331.45 points on August 28, up 356.23 points and above the 46,000 threshold, on turnover of roughly NT$1.023 trillion. TSMC rose NT$10 to NT$2,420, and 36 listed stocks hit their daily limit after NVIDIA's earnings beat lifted sentiment at the open.