Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Two Nvidia Suppliers, One AI OpportunityBoth companies are key suppliers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the specialized chips powering Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) latest AI accelerators.

Both are benefiting from soaring demand for AI servers. Both have become trillion-dollar companies. And both are investing aggressively to expand production as hyperscalers race to build more AI infrastructure.

The question for investors is no longer whether AI memory is a compelling theme. It’s which stock offers the better way to play it.

How the Valuations CompareAt first glance, the two companies look more evenly matched than many investors might expect.

Source: Benzinga Pro data

*P/E figures for SKHynix calculated using publicly available EPS and market data, as Benzinga Pro does not currently display these metrics for this comparison.

The comparison shows just how closely the market is valuing the two AI memory leaders. Micron trades at a slightly lower trailing earnings multiple and price-to-sales ratio, while SK Hynix carries the lower EV-to-EBITDA multiple.

Where Micron Has the EdgeMicron remains one of Wall Street’s strongest AI momentum stories.

Its Value score of 27.85, however, suggests investors are already paying a premium for that growth story.

What SK Hynix Brings to the TableSK Hynix arrives on Nasdaq with a different advantage.

The company is widely viewed as the global leader in high-bandwidth memory and has established itself as one of Nvidia’s most important HBM suppliers. Its U.S. listing gives American investors direct access to that business without buying shares on the Korea Exchange.

While Benzinga Edge rankings are not yet available following the company’s U.S. listing, its valuation metrics suggest investors are assigning a premium comparable to Micron’s rather than treating it as a discounted alternative.

The AI Memory Trade Just Got More CompetitiveSK Hynix’s Nasdaq debut isn’t just another semiconductor IPO. It expands the investment universe for one of AI’s fastest-growing markets.

Micron still offers the familiarity of an established U.S.-listed AI winner with strong momentum and a forward earnings multiple of roughly 6.3x.

SK Hynix, meanwhile, gives investors exposure to one of the industry’s dominant HBM manufacturers at valuation levels that are remarkably similar to Micron’s.

For investors, that may be the biggest takeaway. The AI memory trade is no longer a one-stock story. It has become a two-stock debate, with Wall Street now weighing whether execution, valuation or market leadership will matter most as AI spending enters its next phase.

Image via Shutterstock

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Growth investors focus on stocks that are seeing above-average financial growth, as this feature helps these securities garner the market's attention and deliver solid returns. But finding a growth stock that can live up to its true potential can be a tough task.

In addition to volatility, these stocks carry above-average risk by their very nature. Also, one could end up losing from a stock whose growth story is actually over or nearing its end.

However, the task of finding cutting-edge growth stocks is made easy with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.

Micron (MU - Free Report) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.

Studies have shown that stocks with the best growth features consistently outperform the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this chipmaker is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:

Earnings GrowthArguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.

While the historical EPS growth rate for Micron is 15%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 791% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 57.1%.

Cash Flow GrowthCash is the lifeblood of any business, but higher-than-average cash flow growth is more beneficial and important for growth-oriented companies than for mature companies. That's because, high cash accumulation enables these companies to undertake new projects without raising expensive outside funds.

Right now, year-over-year cash flow growth for Micron is 101.9%, which is higher than many of its peers. In fact, the rate compares to the industry average of 23.9%.

While investors should actually consider the current cash flow growth, it's worth taking a look at the historical rate too for putting the current reading into proper perspective. The company's annualized cash flow growth rate has been 14.7% over the past 3-5 years versus the industry average of 10.2%.

Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsSuperiority of a stock in terms of the metrics outlined above can be further validated by looking at the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is of course favorable here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

The current-year earnings estimates for Micron have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 23.1% over the past month.

Bottom LineMicron has not only earned a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #1 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.

You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

This combination positions Micron well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.

Key Takeaways Memory stocks and DRAM ETF fell 20% , but AI-driven demand and supply shortages remain intact.AI valuations face pressure as debt-funded spending rises and investors seek stronger returns.Long-term AI and Agentic AI growth could make the memory sell-off a dip-buying opportunity. The AI-driven memory trade has stumbled, with leading memory stocks and ETFs slipping into bear-market territory on July 7, 2026. Shares of Micron (MU - Free Report) , Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM - Free Report) have all fallen more than 20% from their recent closing highs, marking a sharp reversal in one of 2026's strongest market themes, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.

The downturn has come despite Samsung reporting record financial results, highlighting investors' growing reluctance to reward even exceptional earnings.

Semiconductor Sell-Off WidensSemiconductor companies tracked by Yahoo Finance have collectively lost about $1.5 trillion in market value since June 25, based on Tuesday's intraday prices. Micron alone has shed nearly $350 billion in market capitalization during that period, the same article revealed.

Several other major chip companies — including SanDisk, Intel, Applied Materials and Lam Research — have each lost more than $100 billion in market value.

The decline has also broadened across the sector, with at least 25 semiconductor stocks falling more than 20% since June 25. Among the notable decliners are Western Digital, Seagate, Teradyne, ON Semiconductor and GlobalFoundries, the article went on to highlight.

AI Overvaluation: A Concern? Investor sentiment appears to be shifting. Expectations have become more demanding, and the market is requiring stronger catalysts to justify premium valuations. Returns on AI spend are failing to meet expectations.

Trillions have been invested in the AI theme. Soaring valuations in AI stocks have triggered worries that Wall Street may be inflating another speculative bubble.

Debt-Fed AI Investments The role of debt is also important in the current AI play. To finance aggressive AI infrastructure spending, tech giants including Nvidia, Oracle, Alphabet and Meta have raised capital through debt and equity offerings in recent months.

Amazon plans to raise at least $25 billion through a bond sale, sources told CNBC’s David Faber. It marks the company’s latest debt raise as it looks to support its massive investments in AI. Amazon's debt sale follows about $64 billion in bond raises earlier this year across the United States, Europe and Canada, after a $15 billion U.S. offering last November.

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, cautioned that the current AI boom will likely lead to bursting bubbles, reminding us of the historical patterns of technological revolutions and the role of debt, as quoted on StartupHub.ai.

Should You Buy the Dip?Despite the recent correction, the broader AI memory trade remains well ahead of where it stood earlier this year. Since late March, the group has still posted a median gain of nearly 60% and added close to $5 trillion in market value, per Yahoo Finance.

Record Earnings of SamsungSamsung's latest results were far from disappointing. The company projected operating profit of about $59 billion and revenues of roughly $113 billion — both record-breaking figures.

SK Hynix Listing Could Be the Next CatalystAttention now turned to SK Hynix's U.S. IPO. Its shares jumped about 13% on the first day of trading, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. The stock climbed to $168 after pricing its American depositary receipts (ADRs) at $149 apiece. The company raised approximately $26.5 billion through the offering, making it the largest U.S. IPO ever by a foreign company, according to Bloomberg data, as mentioned on Yahoo Finance.

Memory Shortage Still in Play The AI-driven memory shortage may still be intact, but the recent sell-off suggests that investors are becoming less willing to overlook rich valuations. Per IDC, server demand continues to grow faster than the supply.  

On the demand side, AI infrastructure is mainly responsible for the shortage. GPU servers are expanding at a pace that captures memory capacity before supply can rebalance.

On the supply side, manufacturing discipline is probably causing the crunch as manufacturers seek to avoid a glut and the resulting crash in memory prices. Major memory manufacturers are now letting pricing reflect dearth, per IDC.

The Agentic AI BoomAgentic AI is growing rapidly and will require complex orchestrations and massive memory retrieval. The Agentic AI Orchestration and Memory Systems market is expected to witness a 35% CAGR during the forecast period (2026-2033), as quoted on Skyquest.com.

ETFs to Play Against this backdrop, investors can tap the dearth of enough memories in the market and the global AI boom with ETFs like Tema Memory ETF (DISK - Free Report) and DRAM. While DISK is a newbie, DRAM is up 33% this year. The fund DRAM has given a flat performance over the past month.

Key Takeaways Micron has signed 16 long-term supply agreements covering key DRAM and NAND volumes.Take-or-pay terms and pricing bands aim to soften market swings and stabilize margins and cash flows.Fourteen agreements represent about $100 billion in minimum revenues, backed by $22 billion in commitments. Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) is reshaping its business model through long-term supply contracts that aim to reduce the earnings volatility typical of the memory industry. With artificial intelligence (AI) driving unprecedented demand for DRAM and NAND, these agreements could provide greater revenue visibility while supporting stable margins and stronger cash flows.

By the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2026, the company signed 16 Strategic Customer Agreements (SCAs) spanning data center, consumer and automotive markets. These contracts currently cover roughly 20% of Micron's DRAM volume and about one-third of its NAND volume over the contract period. Management expects these agreements to eventually account for half or more of total company revenues, significantly increasing the predictability of future sales.

The SCAs are structured as take-or-pay contracts, requiring customers to purchase committed volumes over multiple years. Most agreements include pricing bands with defined floor and ceiling prices, reducing the impact of sharp market swings while allowing pricing to adjust within agreed limits. Fourteen of the signed agreements represent approximately $100 billion in minimum contracted revenues over the remaining contract term. Customers have also committed about $22 billion through cash deposits and related financial commitments, highlighting confidence in Micron's long-term supply strategy.

These agreements come as AI-driven demand continues to outpace industry supply. Micron expects tight DRAM and NAND market conditions to extend beyond calendar year 2027, supported by limited wafer capacity and slower technology transitions. Combined with strong demand for HBM, data center SSDs and advanced memory products, the company's contract-based model should improve revenue visibility.

While memory remains a cyclical industry, these long-term supply agreements could make Micron's financial performance more stable than in previous cycles. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues is currently pegged at $126.66 billion, indicating a robust $238.9% year-over-year surge.

How Do MU's Rivals Compare on Long-Term Revenue Visibility?Micron's closest U.S.-listed competitors are Western Digital Corporation (WDC - Free Report) and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX - Free Report) , though both focus primarily on storage rather than DRAM memory. Like Micron, they are benefiting from the AI-driven surge in enterprise storage demand, but their revenue visibility relies more on long-term cloud customer relationships than formal multi-year supply contracts.

Western Digital has seen strong demand for its enterprise SSDs and high-capacity HDDs, supported by AI data center investments and growing cloud deployments. The company expects continued growth as hyperscalers expand storage infrastructure for AI workloads. Western Digital’s third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues rose 45% year over year to $3.34 billion.

Seagate is also capitalizing on the rising demand for mass-capacity storage. Its Mozaic platform, based on heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology, enables higher-capacity hard drives that help customers lower storage costs. In the last reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Seagate’s revenues jumped 44% year over year to $3.11 billion.

Nonetheless, unlike Micron's take-or-pay SCAs that lock in committed purchase volumes, Western Digital and Seagate remain more exposed to fluctuations in enterprise storage spending and hard drive pricing. This gives Micron an advantage in revenue visibility, especially as its multi-year agreements provide committed demand, pricing discipline and stronger cash flow predictability during periods of tight memory supply.

Micron’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of Micron have surged around 243.1% year to date compared with the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 16.9%.

Micron Technology YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, MU trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, significantly lower than the sector’s average of 24.80.

Micron Technology 12-Month Forward P/E Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Micron’s fiscal 2026 and 2027 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of 791% and 107%, respectively. Bottom-line estimates for fiscal 2026 and 2027 have been revised upward in the past 30 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Micron currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Micron (MU 4.38%) stock slid 3.9% through 11:05 a.m. ET as investors caught a case of the Mondays -- and resumed worrying about the durability of high prices for memory chips used in the artificial intelligence industry.

Image source: Micron.

The SK Hynix "IPO" South Korea's SK Hynix (SKHY 8.95%), now trading on Nasdaq as an American Depositary Receipt, is the likely catalyst for today's decline in Micron's price. SK shares soared 14% on their Nasdaq debut before turning tail this morning and selling off by more than 6%. Micron stock is following SK stock lower, and it's not too hard to understand why.

When SK debuted, its CEO stated confidently that the global market for computer memory will face its "worst-ever supply shortage" next year, and supply will remain low (and prices high) through 2030 and beyond.

This sounds like good news for Micron, which is enjoying windfall profits from these high prices right now. Problem is, SK competes with Micron, it's the dominant player in high-bandwidth memory (50% to 60% market share) and a bigger player in plain vanilla DRAM memory as well, with 29% market share -- more than Micron has.

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What this means for Micron stock This position allows SK Hynix to set prices in the HBM and DRAM markets -- which is fine for Micron for now, as prices are high. But SK is working to double its DRAM production by 2030, which will increase supply and presumably lower prices. Worse, SK Hynix's Nasdaq debut just netted it $26.5 billion in new stock sales, giving it ample funds to proceed with (or even accelerate) its expansion plans.

This will be bad news for Micron, costing it both profits and market share. This is the reason Micron stock is going down today.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Investors looking ahead to when the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) shortage will end can start looking a little further out. Micron’s NASDAQ: MU response to SK Hynix's bold U.S. entry reveals that HBM shortages persist and will likely linger into the next decade (as indicated by the SK Hynix CEO), and that both companies are scrambling to ramp production.

Micron Technology Today

MU

Micron Technology

$936.80 -42.50 (-4.34%)

As of 12:15 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$103.38▼

$1,255.00Dividend Yield0.06%

P/E Ratio21.24

Price Target$1,263.76

While SK Hynix will use its IPO funds to bolster U.S. capacity, Micron is using its robust cash flow and financial position to do the same. The company upped its planned 10-year investment outlook to $250 billion domestically, money to be spent on U.S.-based fabrication capacity and HBM technology advancement.

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The battle is for market share. SK Hynix commands a lion’s share of the market due to its close ties with NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA, but its dominance isn’t assured. Micron, for its part, is working to align more closely with NVIDIA’s standards to carve out a larger share of business from this single client.

Meanwhile, Micron is capturing a significant share of the second-tier AI infrastructure market, including Amazon NASDAQ: AMZN, which uses HBM for its Trainium chips, Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL, which uses it for its Tensor Processing Units, and Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT, which uses HBM for its Maia architecture. Looking ahead, Micron is expected to benefit from the dual tailwinds of high demand, fixed-cost leverage, and pricing power for many years.

The latest news in DRAM and HBM sales is that price caps are being lifted or removed from long-term contracts, opening the door to maximum pricing power. While Micron has yet to follow suit, similar moves are possible. Until then, Micron is sitting pretty, providing an in-demand product with a multiyear sales bump underway and an updraft in pricing power.

Analysts Take Note, Micron Sends Strongly Bullish SignalAnalysts responded favorably to the $250 billion spending plan, with chatter highlighting the investment boost as a strongly bullish signal, reaffirming AI demand and the extended memory upcycle. Long-term revenue visibility translates not only into growth stability, but also into cash flow and capacity for capital returns.

As it stands, Micron’s dividend is a token but ultra-reliable, and the buyback program is in position for robust future increases. Among the catalysts for share prices is the potential for buybacks to start reducing the share count in the not-too-distant future.

Until then, MarketBeat tracks 38 analysts who rate Micron stock as a consensus Buy, with a 92% Buy-side bias. The trends include steady coverage, firming sentiment, and robust price target increases, with consensus forecasting nearly 30% upside as of mid-July and the high-end pegged at $2,000. The $2,000 target is significant, as it represents more than 100% upside from the mid-July trading levels and may be reached within a matter of quarters.

Institutional activity suggests the downside risk is limited in Q3. The group owns more than 80% of the stock and has bought on balance over the trailing 12 months, accelerating buying in early Q3. The early Q3 balance is greater than $2-to-$1, providing a solid support base, and is likely to remain strong, given the trends, outlook, and increased spending plans. The risk from this vector is that this group sells into the rally as the price advances, but there is little sign of that now. With analysts raising targets and the outlook strengthening, institutional support is likely to remain solid for the foreseeable future.

Triple-Digit Upside for Micron: Near, Mid, and Long-TermMicron’s valuation metrics suggest a robust upside potential in the near-, mid-, and long-term. The stock trades at a paltry 12x its current-year earnings guidance, a multiple that is lower than that of AI-critical peers and the S&P 500, which trade at least 100% higher relative to their earnings. Looking ahead, the valuation falls to about 6x as soon as the subsequent year, suggesting another 100% upside is possible within the next two to three quarters. Longer-term, the estimates fail to account for the extended HBM shortage, setting the stage for a persistent, robustly bullish cycle of analyst revisions that may last several years.

Micron’s early July price pullback is an opportunity in this scenario. While the 25% price correction is alarming, it’s a small move for this market, which remains up by approximately 700% on a trailing 12-month basis. The more critical chart detail is the preceding peak and its accompanying MACD convergence, a signal of market strength suggesting fresh highs will be set. The only question is the timing of the move, and it may be triggered soon. Micron is slated to report its fiscal Q4 results in late September, but releases from NVIDIA, the Mag Seven, and AI-critical hyperscale providers can also do the trick by affirming demand and spending trends are intact.

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Key Takeaways Micron's AI memory business is benefiting from strong demand, supply shortages and rising HBM pricing.MU forecast fiscal Q4 2026 revenue of about $50B and adjusted EPS of $31, above consensus estimates. Micron plans major U.S. investments through 2035 to expand AI memory capacity and secure silicon supply. Micron Technology Inc. (MU - Free Report) witnessed a meteoric rise in its stock price in the first half of 2026, rallying nearly 340%. On June 24, the company posted blockbuster third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings results, crushing all estimates. 

As a result, on June 25, shares of MU touched an all-time high of $1,255. Thereafter, the stock has seen a gradual decline and is currently in the bear-market territory plunging 22% from its all-time high. However, the recent softness in the stock price has opened a tremendous opportunity for both short and long-term investors. 

The chart below shows the price performance of MU in the past month.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Excellent Business Opportunity Micron has been benefiting tremendously from the enormous application of AI in day-to-day life, which has pushed up the demand for memory chips. The four major hyperscalers raised their AI capital expenditure budget to $750 billion for 2026. This figure is set to cross $1 trillion next year and is likely to rise further beyond 2027. 

This has resulted in more AI semiconductor sales, implying the need for multiple AI memory chips to operate. Flash memory technologies like DRAM and NAND are used in AI chips, enabling them to perform optimally. 

This has pushed up the demand for AI-enabled memory chips. In their last earnings reports, all four major hyperscalers highlighted a shortage of memory and storage chips, resulting in soaring prices of these products. As a result, MU benefits significantly. 

Micron’s CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, said, “Our customers are recognizing that supply shortages in memory and storage will take considerable time to improve, even as we expect industry supply to improve gradually in 2028.”

Solid Estimate RevisionsMicron has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of more than 100% each, for the current year (ending August 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 22.6% over the last 30 days. 

MU has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 87.8% and more than 100%, for the next year (ending August 2027). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year’s earnings has improved 44.3% over the last 30 days. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Micron’s gross margin climbed to 84.9% in the third quarter from 74.9% in the prior quarter and 39% in the year-ago period. This proved how high-bandwidth memory (HBM) shortage is helping these high-end memory developers to increase prices in a world of AI-powered data center boom. Likewise, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2027 EBITDA margin has shown steady improvement since mid-May.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

New Tech Trends to Drive ProspectsThe performance of any AI model depends on memory performance and capacity. MU’s HBM is a highly sought-after product for NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) , Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD - Free Report) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL - Free Report) to name a few, for their AI-enabled chipsets.

Micron has meaningful exposure to AI, cloud data centers, industrial IoT and autonomous vehicles, all of which require increasingly advanced memory solutions. As AI adoption accelerates, demand for DRAM and NAND products continues to rise. 

NVIDIA identified Micron as a key HBM supplier for its GeForce RTX 50 Blackwell GPUs, reinforcing its importance within the AI supply chain. Demand for HBM4 is also benefiting from next-generation AI infrastructure deployments, including NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform. 

On July 8, Reuters reported that Micron has decided to invest more than $250 billion in the United States through 2035. The company’s original investment plan was $170 billion, which it raised to $200 billion in June. 

Moreover, MU also unveiled its plan to invest $3 billion in GlobalWafers' silicon wafer manufacturing operations in Texas. The two companies plan to enter a 10-year deal to ensure a long-term supply of raw silicon wafer capacity to the AI memory chip behemoth.

Strong Guidance Micron anticipates revenues of $50 billion (+/1 billion) in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026. Operating expenses on a non-GAAP basis are estimated to be approximately $1.65 billion. Adjusted EPS is anticipated to be $31.00 (+/- $1.00). 

Attractive Valuation Despite a robust rally, the MU stock still looks very attractive. It trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 13.43, which is significantly lower than the industry average of 27.73. This discount adds to the appeal for long-term investors.

MU trades at a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 12.41, compared with the industry average of 10. Further, it trades at a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 11.12, compared with the industry average of 8.40. These two multiples warrant premiums due to the company’s dominant position in the AI HBM and DRAM markets.

Huge Price Upside PotentialThe current Zacks Consensus average price for Micron is based on short-term price targets offered by 33 analysts. The short-term average price target of brokerage firms represents an increase of 52.2% from the last closing price of $979.30. 

The brokerage target price is currently in the range of $2,000-$470. This indicates a maximum upside of 104.2% and a maximum downside of 52%. The risk/reward ratio is highly favorable 1:2. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

What Next for MU?Micron currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

MU has invested heavily in next-generation memory technologies, positioning itself to meet the growing performance and efficiency requirements of AI ecosystems. MU’s position in the AI ecosystem continues to strengthen. 

Micron Technologies represents an opportunity to invest in a company with substantial unrealized potential in the AI revolution. At this stage, it will be prudent to buy MU on every dip. Hold this stock for the long term as the astonishing growth potential of the global AI-powered data centers and MU’s strong guidance and business visibility are likely to generate more value.

Artificial intelligence (AI) needs compute in order to develop and be put to use, and this has powered the share prices of chip designers from Nvidia to Advanced Micro Devices. They make the logic chips, such as graphics processing units (GPUs) and central processing units (CPUs), that fuel key AI tasks.

But logic chips aren't the only crucial ingredient in the AI story. Along with these, AI also requires memory and storage, elements provided by companies including Micron Technology (MU 1.05%), SK Hynix, and Sandisk (SNDK +3.10%). In fact, as AI platforms are now applied to real-world problems, the need for memory has become greater than ever.

All of this has buoyed the stock prices of these memory market leaders. Micron and Sandisk have soared nearly 700% and almost 4,000%, respectively, over the past year. And SK Hynix of South Korea just splashed onto the U.S. market, debuting on the Nasdaq on July 10. In their first day of trading, the American depositary receipts (ADRs) jumped 13%.

It's no surprise that investors now are asking: Will these memory giants continue to roar higher? History offers a strikingly clear answer.

Image source: Getty Images.

The importance of memory chips So, first, let's consider the path of these players and the general AI market environment. Micron, SK Hynix, and Sandisk each offer the various types of memory needed across devices and industries. Memory chips are found in everything from smartphones to laptops, so they are broadly used in consumer products -- and today, AI data centers have become massive memory chip customers, driving prices higher and supply lower.

All of this has been a boon to memory chip leaders, with demand so high that each of these players has seen tremendous growth in earnings and stock price. For example, in the recent quarter, Micron reported a 345% increase in revenue to $41 billion and data center gross margin of 87%. And the company expects tight supply to continue beyond 2027 amid high AI demand.

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SK Hynix and Sandisk have delivered similar messages as the data center demand for chips increased. And logic chip designers such as Nvidia have confirmed this pattern. Today, AI is shifting into the phase of agentic AI -- this is use of AI to handle real-world problems, and AI needs more and more memory and storage power to get the job done. So we actually could see an acceleration of memory demand in this stage of the AI growth story.

A cyclical past So does this mean memory stocks have much farther to run? Let's look to history for some clues. Memory stocks are cyclical: Demand rises, manufacturers increase output, supply returns, demand and prices decline.

Here's a look at Micron's stock price and revenue pattern during and following three of the last major memory cycles. The first is during the personal computing boom from 1993 through 1996.

MU data by YCharts

The next happened during the smartphone revolution, from 2016 through 2019.

MU data by YCharts

The following cycle, driven by remote work during the pandemic, spanned 2020 through 2023.

MU data by YCharts

Now, here's a look at Micron during the current cycle. The stock has come down from its highs, and some may argue that it has peaked.

MU data by YCharts

What might be next So the message is pretty clear: History shows that memory stocks have indeed been cyclical, with stock performance and revenue peaking, then going on for a period of declines. This could suggest that, after such enormous gains in revenue and share performance, we may be heading for the downward phase of the cycle. And if it isn't imminent, it could happen as the companies' manufacturing expansions result in greater supply over the next few years.

But it's important to keep in mind that the AI boom may be different from other periods we've encountered -- and that could alter the cycle in important ways. The downward phase may come much later, or it may not be as deep. And if one or both of those possibilities actually take place, revenue and stock performance might hold up much better than they did in the past. Considering the need for memory in agentic AI and in future AI phases such as robotics, this scenario could play out.

All of this means that, though history says memory companies like SK Hynix and Micron may be heading for a dip, it might not be as pronounced or long-lasting as it was in the past. And that's positive news for long-term investors, who don't mind waiting out any down periods.

If you've got $5,000 (or really, any amount) burning a hole in your pocket, then there are a handful of stocks that I think would make for great buys now. Among them are Nvidia (NVDA +3.90%), Micron (MU 1.05%), and Microsoft (MSFT +0.15%).

All three of these companies are leaders in their respective industries, and each is also on sale right now compared to historical averages -- but these prices won't last forever.

Image source: Getty Images.

Nvidia It may be hard to stomach the idea that the world's largest company by market cap is actually underpriced, but that's exactly what the numbers tell investors. Right now, it trades at 22.6 times forward earnings and 15.9 times next year's expected earnings.

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.

For reference, the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.42%) trades for 21.7 times forward earnings, so Nvidia is only slightly more expensive than the broad market average. However, when one looks a bit further into the future, it looks dirt cheap, as 2027 is expected to be another year of strong growth for Nvidia due to the continuing ramp-up of the data center build-out. Additionally, a GPU upgrade cycle is coming later this year, as the new Rubin architecture will launch. Nvidia's Rubin chips are expected to reduce inference token costs by a factor of 10 compared to its Blackwell GPUs, and to be 4 times more efficient for training.

Those major performance increases will help Nvidia deliver a strong growth rate again next year. Wall Street analysts project 41% growth, but they have consistently underestimated Nvidia's growth since 2023. I think that's likely to be the case again this year, which could lead to an incredible 2027 stock performance, especially from its currently cheap starting point.

Micron Micron is a candidate for stock of the year, as it has risen by a jaw-dropping 250% so far this year -- even after its recent pullback. With a rise like that in the rear-view mirror, it may seem odd to continue recommending the stock, but the reality is that Micron's growth wave hasn't wrapped up yet.

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The data center build-out has created massive demand for memory chips, and there simply isn't enough production capacity to meet that demand. With such shortages come skyrocketing prices, and Micron's revenues and profits have soared as a result. This supply-and-demand imbalance isn't expected to be fully resolved anytime soon; Micron's management team believes that market conditions won't improve before 2028.

With Wall Street estimating 81% revenue growth in its fiscal 2027 (which ends in August 2027) and the stock trading at a mere 6.6 times fiscal 2027 earnings, there is plenty of room for Micron to continue rising.

Microsoft Microsoft has had the worst first half of any stock on this list. It's down around 20% so far in 2026, but based on its business performance, it didn't deserve that slide. During its most recent quarter, Microsoft's revenue rose 18% year over year, and earnings per share increased at a 23% clip. That's a solid performance for a tech behemoth like Microsoft.

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However, the market hasn't been impressed. Microsoft actually trades now for a cheap 19.9 times forward earnings. As mentioned above, the S&P 500 trades for 21.7 times forward earnings, so this discount to the broader market is a potentially perfect buying opportunity, since Microsoft's revenues are rising faster than the market's average 10% growth rate.

The market will eventually come back around to buying Microsoft at a premium. Buying shares now positions you to achieve maximum gains when that shift eventually happens.

After hitting a 52-week high of $1,255 on June 25, the Micron Technology (MU 1.05%) stock price has since retreated below $1,000. There's a likely mix of factors that have led to that decline and that are keeping the stock price from rebounding, ranging from potential profit-taking to a chip stock sell-off to increased competition from SK Hynix's listing on the Nasdaq.

In the background, however, there was a July 6 announcement from Micron that seemed to get buried.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Micron locks in Ford On July 6, Micron Technology announced that it had entered into a long-term agreement, which it called a strategic customer agreement (SCA), with Ford to help strengthen the automaker's vehicle production. "Producing the high-volume vehicles of the future in the U.S. will require a resilient supply chain," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the announcement.

Micron didn't offer specifics about the deal's value. But it did say the SCA was part of a collective 16 it discussed in its 2026 third-quarter earnings call.

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In that call, Micron shared that it had strategic agreements, ranging from deals with automakers to hyperscalers, spanning three to five years. From those 16 agreements, it has $22 billion in deposits and financial commitments. In total, those agreements are expected to generate over $100 billion in revenue, a figure that may be conservative.

The news alone didn't push Micron back to its 52-week high of $1,255. But working to lock in future revenue over the years ahead can help it shed its cyclical reputation, building a stronger case for Micron as a long-term investment.

Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Micron (MU 1.05%) has been an incredible stock to own so far in 2026. It's up around 250% this year, but it's also down around 20% from its all-time highs set just a few weeks ago. That begs the question, is now a sign of a future, bigger drop? Or is it the perfect buying opportunity for those who missed out?

Let's take a look at what Micron's stock has to offer investors after its initial major run-up and see if it's a worthwhile buy.

Image source: Getty Images.

The memory chip market will struggle to maintain balance for a while Micron fabricates memory chips, which are utilized in nearly every computing device on the market. Micron makes the two primary types of memory chips: NAND (non-volatile memory that's often used for long-term data storage) and DRAM (volatile, high-speed memory that's used in conjunction with computing units).

Both NAND and DRAM memory are utilized in all sectors of a data center. However, the massive demand wave the data center build-out is creating is too large for the memory fabrication supply chain to handle. As a result, prices are skyrocketing to adjust for booming demand and limited supply.

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Micron and its peers are scrambling to bring new production capacity online. Still, they're also being cautious not to overbuild because this demand wave is temporary (even if it lasts for a few years beyond 2026). Micron's management team believes it will have increased capacity online in mid-2027, but that market conditions won't improve until 2028 or later.

That means there is still plenty of upside ahead for Micron and its investors, but after a 250% rise, is the stock too expensive?

Absolutely not.

Because Micron operates in the cyclical memory chip business, there will always be some amount of speculation regarding the length of the demand wave. So, investors are slowly pricing in growth. Right now, the stock trades for just 13.5 times forward earnings, but also at just 6.6 times next year's earnings.

MU PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

So, if the 13.5 times forward earnings is the maximum price tag that the market is willing to pay for Micron's business, and Wall Street's earnings projections for next year pan out, it's likely that the stock could double from now until this time next year. While the actual movement of the stock won't be that cut and dried, that's the reality investors are looking at.

With the memory chip market likely to experience tightness for a while and Micron expected to grow massively over that same time frame, I think investors can confidently buy the stock on the dip and achieve incredible returns.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

© Canva | AndreyPopov from Getty Images and 400tmax from Getty Images Signature

Artificial intelligence has changed the economics of semiconductors. Instead of competing primarily on volume, a handful of chipmakers now control components that every AI data center needs and few companies can supply. That shift has transformed pricing, margins, and profit expectations across the memory industry. 

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) sits at the center of that change. After years of boom-and-bust cycles, the company is generating profits that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. If its fourth-quarter guidance proves accurate, Micron could earn nearly as much in a single quarter as it generated over the previous two decades — combined.

AI Has Given Micron Unprecedented Pricing Power Micron expects fourth-quarter revenue of $50 billion, plus or minus $1 billion, while forecasting GAAP operating expenses of approximately $1.86 billion. That implies operating income approaching $49 billion if revenue lands near the midpoint.

Those numbers sound almost surreal until you look at what has happened over the past year. Micron has consistently exceeded both Wall Street’s estimates and its own guidance by a wide margin as demand for AI memory has continued outpacing expectations.

Even more remarkable, Micron generated roughly $59 billion in cumulative profits over the past 20 years. One quarter could nearly match two decades of earnings. And if it crushes earnings yet again, it could equal the output of the past two decades.

The reason is simple: supply remains constrained while demand keeps climbing. Industry research firms, including SemiAnalysis, have argued that memory capacity is expanding by only about 20% to 30% annually, while AI demand is doubling. Many industry participants now expect the supply shortage to persist until 2028 at the earliest.

From commodity cycles to 83% software-level margins—the AI-driven supply crunch is triggering a $50 billion payday. © 24/7 Wall St. Margins That Look More Like Software Than Hardware Memory has historically been viewed as a commodity business where prices swing sharply with supply and demand. That isn’t today’s market.

Micron, SK hynix, and Samsung control about 90% of global DRAM production and account for virtually 100% of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production — the specialized memory powering Nvidia‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) AI accelerators and other advanced AI chips. That limited competition has produced pricing power rarely seen in hardware.

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According to Micron’s earnings release, its data center business generated an operating margin of 83% last quarter. Those are numbers investors normally associate with software companies — not manufacturers building physical chips.

Wall Street May Still Be Thinking Too Small Current analyst forecasts suggest Micron could produce $90 billion to $100 billion in operating income this fiscal year, while expecting roughly $133 billion in 2027. Those projections already represent a dramatic leap from anything in Micron’s history.

Granted, there is a ceiling. Rising memory prices eventually reach levels where customers either delay purchases or look for alternatives. Every pricing cycle has limits.

That said, the supply-demand imbalance still favors suppliers. If capacity continues expanding more slowly than AI infrastructure spending, pricing could remain elevated for years, even if it eases from today’s peak levels.

In other words, margins don’t have to remain at 83% forever for Micron to generate profits unlike anything investors have seen before.

Key Takeaway In short, Micron is benefiting from one of the strongest supply-demand imbalances the semiconductor industry has ever experienced. The memory chip maker could generate operating income approaching the total it accumulated over the past 20 years. That transformation stems from AI-driven demand, constrained memory supply, and an industry structure where just three companies control nearly all of the critical DRAM and HBM markets.

Regardless of whether pricing eventually moderates, today’s economics suggest Micron has entered a different phase of its business. For investors, the key question is no longer whether AI is boosting memory demand. It is how long this shortage — and Micron’s newfound pricing power — can last. If supply remains tight through 2028 as many industry observers expect, Wall Street’s current forecasts may prove to be only the starting point.

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While Nvidia (NVDA +3.90%) has been one of the biggest drivers of the market during the past five years, its performance has slowed recently, with the stock up just around 26% over the past year. Part of the reason is the company's sheer size, which has climbed to around $5 trillion in market cap. Still, as the company transforms from a graphics processing unit (GPU) maker into a complete AI infrastructure company, its future remains bright. The stock is also cheap, trading at a forward P/E of 16 times analyst estimates for fiscal 2028 (ending January 2028), even after it reported 85% revenue growth last quarter.

That said, let's look at three AI stocks that have crushed Nvidia's stock performance over the past year. (Note all returns are as of this writing, and even seemingly small moves can have big impacts on one-year returns.)

Image source: Getty Images.

Sandisk: No flash in the pan Up over 3,990% in the past year, Sandisk (SNDK +3.27%) has been the hottest stock in the market, even after a recent 19% pullback. The memory maker has benefited from a shortage of NAND (flash) memory, as demand for huge SSDs (solid-state drives) that use flash memory to store AI data has surged. This has driven up NAND prices, which in turn has boosted Sandisk's sales and gross margin. Last quarter, its revenue surged 251%, while its gross margin climbed from 22.5% to 78.4%.

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Flash prices continue to climb, and Wedbush recently raised its fiscal Q4 outlook for the company, saying Sandisk likely materially underestimated the impact of higher industry price gains in its original forecast. The stock only trades at a forward P/E of less than 7.5 times next year's fiscal estimates, but its multiple remains low due to the NAND market's historically cyclical nature. However, it has started to lock in some longer-term deals with $42 billion in minimum value to try to reduce some of its cyclicality, which could still make the stock a bargain if the NAND cycle continues.

Micron Technology: Riding the DRAM supercycle Memory maker Micron Technology (MU 1.05%) has also been crushing it the past year, with its stock up roughly 721%. Micron derives approximately 75% of its revenue from DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and 25% from NAND. Like Sandisk, the company is seeing big boosts from rising memory prices, which in turn is driving revenue growth and expanding its gross margin.

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The DRAM market is benefiting from surging demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is used to optimize the performance of GPUs and other AI chips. This dynamic is becoming even more pronounced with the rise of inference, which tends to be more memory-bound than compute-constrained. The supply shortage has helped the company lock in long-term contracts for the first time, now covering 40% of its revenue, which should help reduce some of the cyclicality of its business. The stock trades at a forward P/E of under 6.5 times fiscal 2027 estimates, making it a bargain if the DRAM supercycle continues to have legs.

AMD: Riding the inference and agentic AI waves A direct competitor to Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD +2.13%) has nicely outperformed its rival, with its stock up about 302% over the past year. The company's stock performance has been driven by its position in the inference and agentic AI markets.

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While Nvidia has dominated the AI training market due to its strong CUDA software moat, AMD is much better positioned in the fast-growing inference market. Its chiplet designs allow its GPUs to be packaged with more memory, making them well-suited for inference, and it has signed $100 billion GPU partnerships with both OpenAI and Meta Platforms. It is also believed that Anthropic will use its newest chips.

On top of that, as a leader in data center central processing units (CPUs), the company is set to ride the wave in agentic AI. More CPUs will be needed in AI data centers to manage AI agents, with AMD predicting this will grow into a $120 billion addressable market over the next few years. It's a huge opportunity, and the company is already designing high-performance CPUs specifically for agentic AI.

Given its opportunities with both inference and agentic AI, AMD looks like it could have more room to run.

In the age of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, Micron Technology's (MU 1.05%) plan to invest more than $250 billion in U.S. fab expansions marks an aggressive escalation. This capital outlay aims to scale the company's DRAM manufacturing while laying the groundwork for higher-volume high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production.

By deepening production at domestic facilities, Micron is increasingly positioned to capture a larger share of the AI memory supercycle amid fierce competition from SK Hynix and Samsung.

Image source: Micron Technology.

Secular AI demand is mitigating cyclicality in the memory market Micron's decision to increase investment in manufacturing may seem counterintuitive because memory markets have historically moved in tandem with PC and smartphone cycles. However, hyperscalers like Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms have demonstrated an insatiable appetite for AI infrastructure, including advanced memory chips.

In particular, HBM stacks require large quantities of advanced DRAM wafers and sophisticated packaging. These are the areas that Micron's investments are targeting. Scaling output supports Micron's long-term goal of producing 40% of total DRAM domestically. The vision is to create a more durable growth trajectory, enabling the company to close the market-share gap with overseas rivals.

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Micron has been investing in U.S. manufacturing already In New York, the company is building a complex with up to four fabs focused on high-volume DRAM production. Meanwhile, in Idaho and Virginia, Micron is investing in further R&D to accelerate product development and modernize existing operations.

By doubling down on existing infrastructure with this new multiyear build-out, Micron is quietly creating an end-to-end domestic ecosystem spanning wafer fabrication through advanced packaging. This playbook rivals the integrated operations long enjoyed by SK Hynix and Samsung in Asia.

Micron's progression over the next several years should transform earlier piecemeal investments into a more cohesive platform purpose-built for sustained leadership in both DRAM and AI-optimized HBM, directly fueling the company's ongoing ascent throughout the AI infrastructure era.

Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Jim Cramer picked a loud morning to turn bearish. On CNBC’s Squawk on the Street earlier this week, with oil up 5% and global stocks falling after the president declared the Iran ceasefire over, Cramer told David Faber he sees a supply-and-demand imbalance in capital markets he has not witnessed since early 2000. “There’s a lot of offerings, not enough money, and I am turning bearish,” he said, adding, “I have a huge cash position. I don’t want to buy any tech” and “I think we’re out of money, really.”

That is a striking call from someone who spent the last two years cheerleading the AI capex trade. So what spooked him? Two deals. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction)  raised $25 billion in debt that traded poorly, and SK Hynix is lining up a massive equity offering for Friday. Faber put the underlying question directly. “The real question is, when does capital become more dear? You have to pay more for it.”

The Bearish Pivot and the 2000 Comparison Cramer’s last comparable bearish turn came in October 2000, right before the dot-com unwind gathered speed. The parallel he is drawing now is mechanical, not emotional. When too many issuers rush the window at once, prices soften, buyers demand better terms, and the marginal deal has to sweeten.

The 10-year Treasury sits at 4.569%, in the 91.6th percentile of the past year’s range, so the risk-free hurdle for every corporate bond is already elevated. Add a wave of new supply and capital becomes more dear.

Meanwhile, the tape abroad is flashing. KOSPI is down 18% from its June high, with forward P/E at its lowest since October 2008, a print that would lead the tape on a quieter day.

Amazon’s Debt Deal and the OpenAI Canary Amazon is the tell here. Cramer said, “I’m not worried about Amazon. I’m worried about OpenAI, because if Amazon has raised and tapped out the debt market, and the way that piece of debt was received yesterday is not good.”

Amazon is the most creditworthy hyperscaler on the planet, guiding to roughly $200 billion of capex in 2026 on AI infrastructure, chips, robotics, and satellites, with Q1 capex alone at $44.2 billion and TTM free cash flow down 95% to $1.2 billion. If the top of the food chain has to pay up for money, everyone below has a problem.

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The market is not fully buying the panic yet. Polymarket traders are pricing in 87.5% odds that Amazon’s 2026 capex will exceed $200 billion, and AMZN is still up 8.25% year to date at $245. But the same book has an 88.5% probability that AMZN will close today. Traders think Amazon can still spend. They also think the stock gets punished while it’s doing so.

(Our bubble survivors handbook report walks through how to stay invested when the plumbing tightens like this.) The Q1 8-K lays out the capex ramp in the company’s own numbers.

What Out of Money Means for NVIDIA, Micron, and Your Holdings NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the counter-argument to Cramer’s thesis, at least on valuation. Cramer noted NVIDIA trades at 18x forward earnings, cheaper than half the S&P 500, though he is likely using the upper end of earnings estimates. Shares are up 11.2% YTD at $210, with Q1 FY2027 revenue of $81.62 billion, up 85.2% year over year.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) is the extreme case. The stock is up 704% for the year despite the recent selloff, and it just dropped 18% from its highest closing price in June. Micron’s fiscal Q3 revenue hit $41.46 billion, up 345.7% year over year, with Q4 guidance of $50 billion. HBM demand is real. Whether every buyer of an HBM4 wafer can keep funding itself is the Cramer question.

Keep an eye on the stock reaction to SK Hynix’s Friday equity deal and the next round of hyperscaler bond issuance. If those price ugly, Cramer’s supply-glut warning graduates from cable segment to base case. If they get absorbed, the AI capex machine keeps chewing through backlog. Either way, the cost of the money funding this cycle has stopped being an afterthought.

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South Korean semiconductor giant SK Hynix made history on Wall Street, listing on Nasdaq today via American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) under the ticker SKHY.

The firm’s US initial public offering (IPO) priced at $149 was more than 7x oversubscribed – and raised a total of about $26.5 billion. This made it the largest-ever US listing by a foreign company.

SK Hynix stock is now better-positioned to compete for capital against its American rival, Micron. But is it really a better investment than MU for the long-term? Let’s find out!

SKHY shares may be a superior investment than Micron due to the company’s absolute dominance on the High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) market.

The South Korean giant commands an impressive 56.4% share of the global HBM sector – which makes it the primary supplier of ultra-fast memory for artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators.

In fact, SK Hynix is already deeply integrated into Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin platform with its advanced HBM4 architecture.

While Micron Technology is executing rather well and has sold out its capacity through the end of this year, it controls a much smaller 21% market share.

SK Hynix’s massive volume footprint grants it unparalleled pricing power and stronger, contracted multi-year revenue visibility with hyperscalers.

In terms of profitability, SK Hynix shares seem to be in a whole another league.

In its latest reported quarter, the company’s operating margin stood at a staggering 72%, driven by high-value enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs) and premium DRAM modules.

However, despite this world-class financial efficiency, a notable valuation disconnect persists. SK Hynix trades at a highly attractive forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of just 8x, which makes it infinitely cheaper to own than Micron.

In other words, SKHY offers investors direct exposure to the booming artificial intelligence memory market at a much lower valuation than MU.

Despite significant market debut gains, SKHY stock remains attractive as a long-term holding also because the company plans of using the IPO proceeds to future-proof its production moat.

Executives have earmarked substantial funds for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment and advanced packaging plants, including the Yongin semiconductor cluster.

This positions SK Hynix to significantly benefit as the global tech infrastructure shift from massive foundational model training toward real-time, continuous inference driven by agentic AI.

All in all, Icheon-headquartered SK Hynix Inc combines unrivaled HBM leadership, impressive profitability, compelling valuation, and an aggressive capacity expansion strategy all into one.

While Micron Technology remains a formidable competitor, SKHY appears better positioned to capture the next phase of AI-driven semiconductor demand, making it a more compelling long-term investment for growth-oriented investors in 2026.

HomeStock IdeasLong IdeasTech 

SummarySK hynix Inc. debuts on NASDAQ via ADR IPO, offering US investors direct access to the HBM market leader.SKHY commands 56.4% HBM market share, outpacing Micron and Samsung, and benefits most from the AI data center buildout.SKHY's operating margins have surpassed Micron's since 2024, and its forward P/E is a compelling 8x despite clear market leadership.I rate SK Hynix a Strong Buy, citing superior HBM positioning, robust growth, and valuation discount relative to peers. Just_Super/iStock via Getty Images

Investment Thesis Today, SK hynix Inc. (SKHY) started trading on the NASDAQ, providing U.S. investors direct access through a national exchange. Prior to this listing, which is structured as an ADR IPO, investors could only buy SKHY on

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of NVDA either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

AI continues to be top of mind for traders as SK Hynix sets its U.S. trading debut on the Nasdaq via ADR. @Stockstotrade's Tim Bohen turns to Micron (MU) as an opportunity in the AI memory space after a recent pullback in shares.

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Dark situationship with Iran (0:25) SK Hynix preparing IPO (1:20) Micron drops (3:25) Pepsi and Delta earnings (5:20) Financials in focus (7:00)

Transcript

Rena Sherbill: Brian Stewart, Seeking Alpha's Director of News. Always great to talk to you on a Friday at Wall Street Roundup. Welcome back to the show. Talk to us. What is top of mind this week in July?

Brian Stewart: Great to be here. So pretty light week in terms of especially corporate news. We're coming off the July fourth holidays. It's kind of the summer doldrums in general. Just vacations everywhere on Wall Street. So in a way, not too much going on, not a lot of catalysts.

I think Iran was probably the biggest sort of macro headline guiding things this week, though I think we're all just sort of used to the fact that we're in some sort of dark situationship with Iran at this point. It's not clear what our relationship is or what it's going to be, but we're working it out.

I think that's going to continue for the foreseeable future. And I think the market has just sort of decided to not think too hard about it unless something really concrete, either good or bad, takes place.

Meanwhile, on on sort of the the AI front, I think the big news this week was SK Hynix (SKHYV), it's a South Korean memory chipmaker, is preparing its IPO, it raised $26.5 billion of selling its ADRs, priced at $149 a share per ADR. I mean, scheduled to start trading on Monday. So that's gonna be a good litmus test of the amount of demand that's that's out there for for new AI issuances.

Micron (MU), just as sort of a comparison, is down about 22% from the highs it reached about two weeks ago. So it hit highs just as earnings were coming out and has been kind of drifting off that lately.

So there's some signs that there there might be kind of the the AI, at least in sort of the memory chip area, might have overstretched a little bit so I think SK Hynix will be a good test of where we're at.

Rena Sherbill: Will it also show us more insight into the American players and and how that's working out and the division between what's happening in America and what's happening over in Asia?

Brian Stewart: Yeah, I think the more information we have, the better in terms of that.

Every way you can carve up the AI trade, I think is useful for investors. Because I think that's been the conversation that's been going on on Wall Street is the sort of a realization I think 2026 is the realization that there's gonna be winners and losers in the AI trade rather than just all lines go up situation. So I think the more that we can look at all the different ways in which the market is operating.

Along those lines, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) has earnings next week. Next week is the beginning of earnings season. Financial stocks are going to be in the real spotlight, but just in terms of tech, Taiwan Semi is going to be the big name that's releasing next week.

So in terms of just getting a glimpse of the Asian situation as it comes to chips and AI, I think those are both going to be important pieces of information.

Rena Sherbill: And speaking of that AI trade and and straight lines don't only go up. Micron (MU) was down this week. And for those interested in the quant perspective, we had a talk with Steve Cress this week about. That was one of his main picks of the year and a little update there on how it's doing.

But yeah, what would you say about Micron and its place in the market and and what it portends for investors on the tech side of things?

Brian Stewart: It's interesting to me how volatile Micron has gotten on a day-to-day basis and and not really requiring a catalyst to move around. You know, if you just look back at the last say two, three weeks of the daily, the daily change in Micron, you'll see down 10%, up five percent, down six percent, just sort of bouncing around in a in a very high beta way.

So I think that just points to the overall jitteriness of the market, like every kind of wind blowing in one direction or another is really catching sail, I guess is the metaphor that I'm stumbling towards. But yeah I think the world we're in a year, 18 months ago, where AI was definitely the future just as much money as you can you know shake out of the mattress and find in your old pants pockets, put it into AI and it'll eventually work out.

I think that people are a little less sure that that's the case. I think there's an argument to be made that that a lot of the the benefit of AI, at least in the near term, has already been priced into a lot of these stocks and everyone's kind of looking around to see either confirmation of that or some sign that no, actually there's another substantial near term growth possibility out there.

Rena Sherbill: Yes, lots to be paying attention to along the way. What other stock specific news do you have for us?

Brian Stewart: So just check in on the consumer. Like I said, there there wasn't a lot of earnings, especially this week, but we did get PepsiCo (PEP) announcing its earnings, it dipped three percent following results.

Revenue beat expectations, it was helped by overseas strength. how are the the company warned that the consumer is feeling the pinch of higher prices and especially in impulse buys?

So there's just kind of a rising a rising wallet consciousness among consumers that Pepsi's pointing out. People are getting a little bit more strict about their budgets. They're not sort of willing to grab that Pepsi on the on the way out of the store kind of situation.

And then on kind of a similar front, but kind of the opposite bit of news. Delta (DAL) also dipped after its earnings, but it was able to overcome higher fuel prices through higher prices and and it specifically pointed to strong travel demand.

So you have Pepsi kind of warning about about consumers not not having as much money as they used to and and pulling back on purchases. And you have Delta saying that there's strong travel demand.

Now this could point to sort of a bifurcation among consumers because obviously, you know, people who are booking vacations and and traveling a lot for either business or pleasure you know, are probably higher income consumers where you know Pepsi is snacks and and sodas and and things like that.

So they might be operating in sort of the lower income areas. So you might see that split being kind of put into action there. But there there are some signs of caution about the impact that inflation is having on overall spending.

Rena Sherbill: Anything else, Brian, for this week?

Brian Stewart: No, just looking ahead, earnings season, like I said, is coming up.

Financials are gonna be in focus. You have stocks like Citi (C) and Goldman (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) all reporting early next week, starting Tuesday and kind of rolling into the rest of the week. Financials have had a pretty good run lately.

They're up about seventeen percent. I'm looking at the (XLF) right here, up about seventeen percent since March, which was sort of the high point of Iran concern was in sort of the mid to late March period. So you see a lot of stocks hit kind of a near-term multi-month low in the the March time period.

Since that point, you see the financials are up pretty strongly. They're not quite to where they were in January, which was their high for the year, but they're almost there. So overall some excitement, but I also think a wait and see attitude going into the earnings reports.

There's also a split within the sector. So you see like Citigroup and Goldman are both up about twenty percent year to date, but meanwhile Wells Fargo's down six percent and JP Morgan and Bank of America are both up, but to a lesser degree.

So there are stock picking situations going on in financials. So I think we're gonna get lot of information from them next week and it's gonna kind of set the stage for whatever's happen.

Rena Sherbill: We had Clem Chambers on Investing Experts, and he was talking about going down the value chain to wit these financial stocks. I'm just gonna quote for a second. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts if you have any afterwards. So he says,

There are other stops on that chain of value in AI, and I think people haven't put two and two together just yet. For example, Goldman Sachs. I mean, what a wonderful company. Pays a nice dividend, cheap as chips. I mean, way cheaper than chips at this point. Chips are expensive now. And who's going to be doling out all this investment money? Who's going to be doling out all the money that they're going to have to print to onshore American industry to build out AI? It's going to be those investment banks again, isn't it?

If you have any thoughts, happy to hear them. But I thought that was a a a really nice take on a oversaturated, you know, stock picking kind of market. I thought that was an insightful point that I hadn't heard before.

Brian Stewart: In terms of of Goldman and AI and just sort of who the winners are gonna be, I do think that that's part of that conversation I was talking about before about winners and losers and kind of looking under the hood or looking into the future, and okay, so who's next?

We know that this is going to be a super powerful tool. We've been very focused on the infrastructure play and maybe sort of the next level, the hyperscalers and things like that. But there's lots of companies whose businesses are going to change dramatically in ways that are gonna make them extremely more profitable in the future. And so finding that next wave I think, it's part of the discussion that's coming next.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

Micron Technology NASDAQ: MU just accelerated a $250 billion domestic fabrication commitment, pouring concrete a full quarter ahead of schedule at its new Clay, New York mega-fab.

Micron Technology Today

MU

Micron Technology

$978.18 -13.46 (-1.36%)

As of 12:17 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$103.38▼

$1,255.00Dividend Yield0.06%

P/E Ratio22.09

Price Target$1,263.76

This capital deployment moves beyond standard capacity expansion. It represents the creation of a closed-loop U.S. manufacturing ecosystem that actively derisks the memory supercycle and insulates domestic production from volatility in the Taiwan Strait.

When capital expenditures reach a quarter-trillion dollars, the market takes notice. Understanding how this localized supply chain dominance impacts Micron's forward valuation and competitive positioning is critical for investors navigating the semiconductor sector.

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Securing the Raw Silicon Foundation in TexasBuilding a semiconductor fabrication plant requires years of planning, billions in capital, and a highly synchronized supply chain. Micron is tackling supply chain vulnerabilities head-on by allocating $3 billion to domestic sourcing initiatives.

The most pivotal piece of this allocation is a $500 million strategic financing agreement with GlobalWafers to secure raw silicon capacity at a new Texas facility. Raw silicon wafers are the foundational canvas of chipmaking. By locking in a 10-year domestic supply agreement, Micron ensures its New York and Idaho fabs will have the critical materials needed to operate without relying on trans-Pacific shipping routes. This localized infrastructure solidifies long-term dominance in the supply chain.

As enterprise companies and governments continue to demand secure AI infrastructure, a fully U.S.-based memory pipeline increasingly commands a definitive geopolitical safety premium.

Out-Executing SK Hynix on the HBM4 BattlefieldTo understand current valuation dynamics, investors need to examine the architecture of a modern AI data center. Graphics processing units starve without High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) feeding them information at lightning speed.

South Korean competitor SK Hynix currently dominates the HBM space with a 57% global market share. On July 10, SK Hynix expects to launch a formidable $28 billion Nasdaq listing to fund its own capacity expansion. While the capital raise is substantial, SK Hynix operates with a structural vulnerability. The company relies heavily on packaging and testing facilities located in regions exposed to friction in the South China Sea. If geopolitical tensions rise, their supply chain grinds to a halt.

Micron is moving aggressively to capture market share from SK Hynix and other competitors by out-executing its rivals on the manufacturing floor. Recent management commentary indicates Micron is achieving faster-than-expected defect reduction and yield ramps in its upcoming HBM4 architecture.

In semiconductor manufacturing, yield dictates everything. Yield measures the percentage of usable, defect-free chips that come off a silicon wafer. Higher yields equal fatter net margins and faster time-to-market. Micron's ability to scale domestic HBM4 yields directly threatens SK Hynix’s market share, offering cloud service providers a more reliable, technologically superior product free from international shipping chokepoints.

Separating the Halo Effect From Pure-Play AlphaWhen capital flows into a localized sector, neighboring businesses often catch a draft. Critically, GlobalWafers does not supply Micron alone—the same raw silicon feeds much of the domestic foundry base, including GlobalFoundries NASDAQ: GFS, which has maintained a multi-year strategic partnership with GlobalWafers since 2021.

That shared pipeline is why GlobalFoundries experienced an immediate intraday price expansion as markets reacted to Micron's capital deployment. As Micron's capital derisks the broader domestic silicon ecosystem, foundries drawing from that same raw material pipeline stand to benefit from increased stability.

However, investors evaluating the sector should separate a sympathetic halo effect from pure-play AI infrastructure growth. A closer look at the fundamentals reveals a stark contrast in revenue quality between the two companies. GlobalFoundries operates as a pure-play contract manufacturer but relies heavily on legacy consumer electronics.

Smart mobile devices currently account for 34% of GlobalFoundries' revenue mix. While Micron posted a 345.8% year-over-year revenue growth driven by sold-out AI memory capacity, GlobalFoundries managed a modest 3.1% increase.

Forward projections point to EBITDA margin compression for GlobalFoundries, burdened by cyclical drag from the handset market. Trading at a steep forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 50.3 compared to a trailing P/E of 50.0, GlobalFoundries lacks the unhedged data center exposure that drives structural valuation breakouts.

Smart Money Front-Runs the Forward MultipleInstitutional money always leaves footprints, and the derivatives market suggests a significant bullish sentiment shift for Micron. Recent options data reveals aggressive out-of-the-money call sweeps targeting the $1,100 and $1,150 strikes expiring in August 2026. This highly targeted derivatives positioning suggests smart money is front-running a valuation re-rating ahead of the SK Hynix liquidity event.

The fundamentals support this institutional accumulation. Micron’s trailing P/E ratio currently sits at 22, but its forward P/E compresses dramatically to 14. Those forward multiples signal anticipated earnings growth, heavily supported by recent quarterly performance. Micron just reported earnings per share of $25.11, beating consensus estimates by $3.72. Operating with net margins of 55.91% and a virtually nonexistent debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, Micron's balance sheet is uniquely positioned to absorb the $250 billion expansion without destructive shareholder dilution.

Building Your Portfolio Around the Reshoring TradeSemiconductors are no longer just technology products; they are critical sovereign assets. By aggressively reshoring its manufacturing footprint, Micron has recognized the vulnerability of its globalized memory supply chain and deployed a quarter-trillion-dollar solution.

As SK Hynix attempts to absorb $28 billion in capital to defend its incumbent status, the market is actively recalculating risk. Micron’s accelerating HBM4 yields and domestic moat render offshore memory operators structurally vulnerable.

Investors looking to capitalize on this U.S. infrastructure buildout might consider adding Micron to their watchlists. As the AI memory supercycle continues to tighten global capacity and supply, companies that command physical supply chain security are uniquely positioned to dictate market pricing and capture dominant market share.

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SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK | SNDK Price Prediction) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) both delivered blockbuster AI-driven memory quarters, then got swept up in a brutal mid-July correction as investors questioned whether storage demand has peaked. SanDisk, freshly spun off from Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in February 2025, now sports a four-figure share price. Micron trades below $900 with real fabs and locked-in contracts behind it.

Datacenter Carries SanDisk. HBM Carries Micron. SanDisk’s Q3 FY2026 revenue hit $5.95 billion, up 251% YoY, with non-GAAP EPS of $23.41 crushing the $14.66 consensus. The Datacenter segment grew 645% YoY, but Consumer slipped 10% sequentially, a small crack worth noting. CEO David Goeckeler called it a “fundamental inflection point” tied to a mix shift toward enterprise SSDs.

Micron ran bigger and broader. Q3 FY2026 revenue reached $41.46 billion, up 345.7% YoY, with GAAP gross margin of 84.6% and seven consecutive EPS beats. HBM4 is already in high-volume shipments for its lead AI customer, and Cloud Memory alone brought in $13.77 billion.

One Depends on a Partner. One Owns Its Fabs. The structural gap is where the “dangerous” label sticks to SanDisk. It relies on the Kioxia Corporation Flash Ventures JV for manufacturing, sells commodity-prone NAND, and has only five multi-year New Business Model agreements signed so far. Micron, by contrast, is the only U.S.-based memory manufacturer, spent $7.83 billion on capex last quarter, and has billions locked in Strategic Customer Agreements.

Lens SanDisk Micron Core Product NAND flash, HBF DRAM, HBM4, NAND Manufacturing Kioxia JV dependence Owned U.S. fabs Trailing P/E 60 22 YTD Move +581.5% +229% SanDisk fell 28.85% in the past week to $1,617.70. Micron slipped 18.69% to $938.38. The larger drop tells you where fragility hides.

The Next Test Is Hyperscaler Capex Both stocks live and die on cloud spending. Micron guided Q4 revenue to $50.0 billion with ~86% gross margin, an outlook backed by HBM4E ramping into calendar 2027. SanDisk projected $7.75B to $8.25B in Q4 revenue. I want to see whether SanDisk’s remaining NBM signings close and whether Consumer weakness spreads before I trust the run higher.

Why I Lean Toward Micron Right Now If I had to hold one memory name through a demand wobble, it is Micron. Owned fabs, HBM leadership, and a 30% dividend increase earlier this year give me real downside support. SanDisk’s story is genuinely impressive, but a 60 trailing P/E, Kioxia dependency, and a young standalone track record leave me cautious. If you want turnaround-style upside and can stomach the volatility, SanDisk fits. For me, Micron’s asset base and contract book win the risk-adjusted call.

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Micron Technology (MU) drew renewed support from Bank of America, which said the memory chipmaker offers a stronger investment case than Qualcomm (QCOM) as arti

Despite delivering exceptional results in its fiscal third-quarter earnings report, shares of Micron Technology (MU 2.38%) have slid roughly 11% since the company's earnings release on June 24. The contrast between strong business fundamentals and the market's reaction is a little puzzling.

While near-term sentiment on Micron appears to be turning cautious, the company's underlying momentum and valuation profile suggest the sell-off is more a reflection of broader sector dynamics as opposed to a fundamental deterioration at Micron itself. This disconnect creates a unique opportunity to buy Micron stock at more attractive levels.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Why is Micron stock plummeting? A number of factors are weighing on Micron following the company's recent earnings report. Namely, increased capital spending from key competitors Samsung and SK Hynix have raised concerns about potential future supply and pricing pressure in the DRAM, NAND, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) markets. Sometimes investors interpret competitors' aggressive investments as a signal that industry capacity could outpace demand growth in the medium term even when the near-term outlook remains robust.

Moreover, over the last couple of weeks, there has been a broader rotation out of AI semiconductor stocks. This has brought additional downward pressure to a number of leading chip stocks, including Micron.

SMH data by YCharts.

After a strong multi-year run driven by accelerating data center build-outs, some investors are taking profits or reducing exposure to the obvious winners amid macro uncertainty and questions about the pace of AI infrastructure spending from the hyperscalers.

Micron is demonstrating incredibly strong momentum Micron has posted robust revenue and earnings per share (EPS) growth over the last several quarters. During the most recent earnings call, management's guidance remained constructive -- highlighting new long-term supply agreements that provide greater revenue visibility and reduce cyclical risk.

MU Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.

Equally important, Micron outlined that these strategic customer agreements come with price bands that effectively lock in optimal pricing discipline and ongoing manufacturing efficiencies. In turn, the company is positioned to maintain both healthy revenue growth and expanding gross margins over the coming years.

These dynamics point to a business that is not only growing but also becoming structurally more profitable over time. The combination of accelerating top-line results and protected margin levels supports the view that Micron is part of a sustained upward trajectory in the AI infrastructure ecosystem.

Forget the stock price, look at valuation instead As of this writing (July 8), shares of Micron have skyrocketed 230% so far this year, making it the second-highest performer in the Nasdsaq-100. However, the stock is now down 22% from recent highs and trades for roughly $943. While this may look expensive, the absolute dollar amount of a stock price reveals little about a company's underlying valuation.

Today's Change

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Even after its meteoric gains, Micron trades at a compelling valuation based on the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple. With a forward P/E of just 6.4, I think it's fair to say that much of the company's anticipated growth over the next couple of years has yet to be fully priced into the stock. For reference, other category-leading AI chip stocks such as Nvidia, Broadcom, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing have consistently traded at forward P/E ranges between 25x and 50x throughout much of the AI revolution.

When growth prospects remain strong but the underlying valuation multiples have not expanded excessively, periods of share-price consolidation often represent attractive entry points. At current levels, Micron's risk-reward setup favors long-term investors willing to look past short-term volatility. I think the dip is an opportunity to accumulate shares in a company whose earnings power and strategic positioning in the high-growth AI memory segment continue to strengthen.

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SK Hynix is about to go live on the U.S. market, and Micron (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) will no longer be the lone go-to option for investors looking to play the DRAM shortage. Undoubtedly, time will tell if SK Hynix, which will debut with an ADR priced at $149 per share, is coming to the U.S. market a bit late in the cycle. With recent volatility hitting the broad semi scene, questions linger as to whether more than just perfection is priced in when it comes to the world’s top memory chip makers.

Of course, they’ve got the triopoly, pricing power, and could continue to grow earnings at an absurd pace for years to come. But just how much of that bullish narrative is already baked in? And what’s it going to take to keep the share price appreciation going from here? Shares of SK Hynix have already gained more than 640% in the past year and about 1,750% in the last five years.

Despite the hot run, though, shares still look quite attractively valued, especially compared to the likes of a U.S.-based Micron.

SK Hynix is a premium memory chip titan at a fairly reasonable price As to whether SK Hynix’s U.S. debut can help it move beyond the days of the South Korean discount remains the trillion-dollar question. In any case, it looks like SK Hynix is going to be coming in hot. And given its size, the big question is whether waves will be made as investors look to welcome another AI-driven behemoth into the mix.

Time will tell if a U.S. IPO is enough for SK Hynix to command a greater premium. In my view, there are a number of unique differentiators that make a fairly strong case for rotating from Micron into SK Hynix.

Apart from its very close relationship with GPU giant Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), SK Hynix stands out as a more explosive play in high-bandwidth memory. Undoubtedly, Micron may have shifted gears to cater more to the big AI spenders and away from everyday consumers amid the latest boom in DRAM, but SK Hynix has already been flooring it some time ago.

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Though it’s hard to tell, I do think that a lot of the recent volatility hitting the tech scene is more to do with profit-taking on the part of investors looking to get a piece of SK Hynix. With considerable oversubscription on the table and the potential for the opening day price to get a bit out of hand, I’d look to limit orders rather than placing market orders at the open.

SK Hynix could come in hot as it takes the title of the more explosive memory chip play In my view, $175 per share can’t be counted out as the hottest new AI issue hits the ground running in its first day of trading in the U.S. market. Going into 2027, things could get really interesting for SK Hynix, as its new Yongin fab comes online by summer.

The massive factory is going to help inject a wave of new AI memory supply on the market. As AI demand stays overheated, though, it’s already looking like that supply is going to get snatched up as they come off the assembly lines.

In any case, it’s hard not to be excited about SK Hynix, even if giant question marks surround the future of memory chip demands, if something like TurboQuant, which uses algorithmic efficiencies to reduce demand, were to make bigger strides. It’s a major risk that SK Hynix highlighted, and it’s one that might be met with great unpredictability.

Could a company like Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Google really derail the memory chip run in its tracks? Or will demand for the latest and greatest that SK Hynix has to offer stay hot in spite of any such breakthrough efficiency innovations?

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.