In the initial quarter of 2026, the soaring demand emanating from artificial intelligence (AI) applications and data centers has intensified the global disparity between memory supply and demand. This trend has notably bolstered the negotiating leverage of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Specifically, the projected quarterly hike in contract prices for traditional Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) has been escalated from an initial estimate of 55-60% to a striking 90-95%. Similarly, contract prices for NAND Flash memory have witnessed an upward revision from 33-38% to 55-60%, with the potential for additional price surges remaining a plausible scenario.
