Micron, SanDisk Rise About 2% Pre-market on Tight Memory Supply

Micron and SanDisk rose about 2% in pre-market trading, extending a recent rally that included a 6.1% jump for Micron and an 11.9% gain for SanDisk last Friday. Investors pointed to tight memory inventories and strong demand from AI data centers as drivers of the moves.

AI data centers are consuming large volumes of DRAM and NAND, supporting contract prices. Manufacturers are redirecting production toward higher-value chips such as high-bandwidth memory, reducing available supply for standard memory products.

Some device buyers appear to be accelerating purchases to avoid further price increases, according to TrendForce figures. That pull-forward demand and limited inventories contributed to last week’s gains in memory stocks.

New wafer production capacity is not expected to arrive quickly. Dan Kim, chief strategy officer at TechInsights, expects no meaningful new supply until at least 2028, which would extend the current tightness.

Micron’s own expansion timetable highlights the timing issue. A planned complex in New York is not expected to produce significant output until about 2030, while a facility in Idaho is slated to begin wafer production in 2027.

The consumer market shows immediate signs of strain. TrendForce data indicate global smartphone production was about 275 million units in the second quarter, down 8% from a year earlier. TrendForce raised its 2026 production forecast to roughly 1.07 billion units but cautioned that improvement does not represent a sustained recovery.

Bernstein projects “demand destruction in the consumer segment will eventually happen” as memory contract prices continue to rise. The firm expects price increases to slow and begin to normalise from the second half of 2027 into 2028.

Analysts draw a clear distinction between AI-driven and consumer demand. AI customers are generally less price-sensitive because memory is a core input for data-center infrastructure. Consumer buyers can delay purchases, choose cheaper models or accept lower memory configurations.

Nabila Popal, senior director at IDC, projects memory prices could settle at a “new normal” about three times historical levels. She adds that smartphone and PC makers are shifting toward premium models, trimming memory configurations or raising device prices to protect margins.

Analysts point to capacity timelines and consumer sales trends as indicators to watch for how long the current market tightness may continue.