The report says that cloud service providers, leading automakers, and smartphone giants Apple and Samsung hold enough financial clout to resist price hikes and maintain priority allocation from memory manufacturers. Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron cannot afford to jeopardize those relationships, so these large customers get served first, while also increasingly requiring prepayment or cash transactions before confirming orders — terms that smaller firms with little bargaining power will struggle with.
According to DigiTimes , these companies began struggling to absorb soaring memory costs in the second half of 2025. As prices continued climbing into 2026, some have started revising demand forecasts downward in what amounts to a "cut losses to survive" strategy. That approach is expected to spread as high prices persist, directly reducing overall market demand for memory.
Memory hoarding and skyrocketing prices hit entry-level electronics demand, foundry orders
Samsung and SK hynix shorten memory contracts as pricing power shifts back to suppliers
IDC warns PC market could shrink up to 9% in 2026 due to skyrocketing RAM pricing
Last month, TrendForce revised its Q1 2026 DRAM contract price forecast upward to a 90-95% quarter-over-quarter increase, with NAND flash up 55-60% over the same period. A separate DigiTimes report published today indicates that DRAM prices could surge a further 70% in Q2 2026, while research firm IDC has warned the shortage could persist well into 2027.
HP disclosed last month that DRAM now accounts for 35% of its PC build cost , up from between 15% and 18% a quarter earlier. Meanwhile, Gartner projects PC shipments will drop more than 10% in 2026 , and smartphone shipments will fall roughly 8%, both driven by memory costs. IDC expects white-box and lower-tier vendors, including DIY system builders, to bear the heaviest burden.
All this raises a question about what happens next if enough SMEs exit the market because they can’t afford the premiums. If smaller buyers collectively pull back, tight capacity could soon become oversupply, potentially exposing the shortage as “illusory,” says DigiTimes .
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/memory-prices-now-shifting-hourly-as-smaller-firms-fight-over-scraps#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Drones attack several AWS Middle East region data centers amid Iran war, leading to outages — service health been disrupted after power cut due to fire risk
- AI memory crunch forces DRAM market into 'hourly pricing' model, report claims — small and medium-sized businesses fighting for survival
- Transcend 260S 2TB SSD Review: A Dependable Alternative PCIe 5.0 Contender
- All About the Games: Play Over 4,500 Titles With GeForce NOW
- Cave-inspired 3D printed Japanese home touted as earthquake resistant — two-story house first of its kind to be granted seismic compliance certificate
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.