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Friday 30 January 2026

SanDisk sees sevenfold profit surge in 2QFY26, extends Kioxia JV

SanDisk delivered a strong fiscal second quarter in 2026, reflecting accelerating demand across data centers, industrial applications, and consumer electronics, driven by the ongoing AI infrastructure buildout. The US flash memory maker reported revenue of US$3.03 billion, up 61% year over year, while net profit surged 7.7-fold to US$803 million, according to its January 29, 2026, earnings release.

Friday 30 January 2026

DRAM price surge ripples downstream as CWE plans EMC hike

The recent surge in DRAM prices is widening pricing headroom across the semiconductor supply chain, prompting Chang Wah Electromaterials (CWE), a major semiconductor materials supplier and distributor, to plan price increases for epoxy molding compound (EMC) starting in March 2026.

Friday 30 January 2026

Memory prices soar as AI demand tightens DRAM and NAND supply, spot buying slows near year-end

Memory demand remains strong, intensifying the industry's supply-demand imbalance. Contract prices for the first quarter of 2026 are rising sharply, with major South Korean memory suppliers releasing new quotations showing DDR5 price hikes of up to 80%, while DDR4 prices are holding at roughly 50% increases. Parts of the server memory supply chain are still awaiting official price settlements in February 2026.

Friday 30 January 2026

Samsung, LG hike laptop prices as memory 'chipflation' hits

Prices for laptops and consumer IT devices are climbing as a sustained rally in memory semiconductor costs ripples through the market. The trend, described by industry observers as "chipflation," is beginning to reach consumers as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics debut their latest notebooks with sharply higher price tags.

Friday 30 January 2026

South Korea NAND flash gains strategic role in next-gen AI infrastructure

With artificial intelligence (AI) technology advancing at a breakneck pace—particularly as applications move from the training phase to inference—demand for high-capacity, high-performance storage in data centers and embedded devices is surging. Once considered a low-margin segment prone to market volatility, NAND flash has taken on a new strategic role in Nvidia's blueprint for next-generation AI infrastructure, becoming an indispensable component for AI inference workloads.

Friday 30 January 2026

Taiwan pledges equal incentives for US investors under new MOU, with no cap on subsidies

Taiwan is stepping up efforts to anchor global investment at home, offering equal incentives to US and foreign firms even as cross-border commitments under the Taiwan–US Investment Cooperation MOU remain asymmetric.

Friday 30 January 2026

Memory, CPU shortages hit Wintel notebooks, benefiting Apple

Notebook makers are under growing pressure as memory shortages and price increases persist, while a widening shortage of CPUs adds a second constraint. What began as a supply gap at Intel has now extended to AMD, leaving notebook brands that had planned to pull forward orders with limited components available. The dual shortages are clouding the outlook for the notebook market in 2026. Industry observers say Apple is likely to benefit in the near term as Wintel suppliers absorb most of the disruption.

Friday 30 January 2026

Greatek hits full capacity on AI-driven flip chip, QFN packaging demand

Powertech Technology (PTI) and its subsidiary test and assembly firm Greatek jointly held an online investor conference to discuss future operations. Greatek president Yu-Chang Chi said that driven by sustained demand from AI and memory customers, flip chip and QFN packaging lines have reached full capacity. Bumping packaging capacity is also expected to be fully utilized in the coming quarters, leading to a positive outlook for first-half 2026 performance.

Friday 30 January 2026

SK Hynix reportedly converts Icheon DRAM lines as supply crunch boosts margins

The global memory market is moving into a phase that looks increasingly different from past cyclical upswings, as demand tied to artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems continues to strain supply. With conventional DRAM prices firming and capacity expansion remaining cautious, major memory makers are reshaping production strategies to protect margins rather than pursue volume growth.

Thursday 29 January 2026

Samsung reclaims memory sales crown as SK Hynix extends profit lead

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both delivered record fourth-quarter 2025 results, underscoring the sharp rise in memory prices and profits as supply across the market tightens.

Thursday 29 January 2026

Samsung foundry hit by China pullbacks in 2025, eyes late-year stabilization

Chinese customers who had planned to use Samsung Electronics' foundry services abandoned a number of projects in 2025 as US regulatory pressure on China intensified and uncertainty peaked ahead of mass production, according to Korean industry sources. Market participants say conditions may look different in 2026.

Thursday 29 January 2026

Earnings call summary: Samsung 4Q25 profit jumps as AI memory crunch pressures phones and displays

Samsung Electronics reported record quarterly revenue and operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, as surging memory prices and tight supply, driven by the artificial intelligence boom, more than offset seasonal weakness in smartphones, televisions, and home appliances. The company also warned that an acute chip shortage is expected to persist, creating cost pressures for its mobile and display businesses.

Thursday 29 January 2026

Analysis: China's chip price spiral has begun; a grey rhino threatening the 2026 supply chain

China's semiconductor supply chain is sending a clear signal: a wave of "chip inflation" driven by mature-node manufacturing, memory, and packaging costs is no longer theoretical; it is becoming a structural reality. Following Cmsemicon's decision to raise prices on MCU and NOR Flash products by 15% to 50%, long-stable commodity chips have officially entered an inflation cycle.

Thursday 29 January 2026

AI boom threatens global chip supply, automakers warned

The Covid-19 pandemic once sparked a wave of upgrades for personal computers and smartphones, fueling strong demand for semiconductors. However, it also exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains, leaving companies like TSMC entangled in the global automotive chip crunch and prompting the US and Europe to invite TSMC to build factories on their soil.

Thursday 29 January 2026

Analysis: how SK Hynix is binding customers to its AI memory

SK Hynix is moving to lock out competitors in the high-stakes battle for AI memory, deploying a "one-team" operational strategy that integrates the chipmaker directly into its customers' design processes just as it confirms the mass production of its next-generation HBM4.

Thursday 29 January 2026

Earnings call summary: Samsung 4Q25 profit tops KRW20 trillion on memory boom

Samsung Electronics posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, underscoring how AI-driven demand for advanced memory has become the company's main earnings engine, even as smartphones, TVs, and home appliances faced seasonal slowdowns and margin pressure.

Thursday 29 January 2026

IPC cost and memory supply pressures accelerate product upgrades

The surge in AI demand is driving massive memory consumption, pushing the memory industry into a bullish phase. Market consensus expects tight memory supply and demand conditions to ease only by 2028. This shift is impacting industrial PC (IPC) manufacturers not just through short-term inventory fluctuations but evolving into mid- to long-term structural changes. IPC players are now comprehensively adjusting pricing mechanisms, product platforms, and procurement strategies to adapt to this new environment.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

SK Hynix bets $10B on Silicon Valley with new U.S. AI subsidiary

SK Hynix announced on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, it will establish a new US-based entity dedicated to artificial intelligence solutions, backed by a planned US$10 billion investment.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

SK Hynix reports record-breaking 2025 earnings driven by AI memory boom

SK hynix Inc. announced record-breaking financial results for fiscal year 2025 on Thursday, driven by its dominant competitiveness in the AI memory sector and high-value products like High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Phison's Pascari SSDs power world's first lunar data center, set new reliability benchmark

Taiwan's leading NAND controller and storage solution provider, Phison Electronics Corp., recently announced that its enterprise SSD brand Pascari has partnered with US space data company Lonestar Data Holdings on the award-winning Freedom Mission, a milestone project highlighting the rising strategic importance of secure and resilient data storage in the AI era.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Powertech posts 4Q25 profit high, eyes growth momentum into 2026

Memory testing and packaging firm Powertech Technology (PTI) reported that its revenue and earnings met expectations in the fourth quarter of 2025. Quarterly revenue reached NT$21.41 billion (approx. US$681.38 million), up 25.2% year-over-year. Net income attributable to the owners of the parent totaled NT$1.86 billion, increasing 21.2% quarterly and 22.3% year-over-year, while earnings per share stood at NT$2.52.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Macronix restarts NT$22B capex to boost MLC eMMC and NOR flash output

Memory giant Macronix (MXIC) has decided to resume its capital expenditure plan, allocating NT$22 billion (approx. US$704 million) in 2026 to aggressively expand its severely short-supplied MLC NAND production capacity and fill market gaps left by major players exiting MLC NAND.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Apple's iPhone 17 powers a strong quarter as memory costs soar

Apple is set to report fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings on January 29, with strong sales of the iPhone 17 expected to drive record operating performance and solid smartphone shipments. The iPhone 17 lineup, which offers added features without price increases, has seen particularly strong demand in China and the US.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Samsung reportedly channels most 1c DRAM capacity into HBM4 for early 2026 mass production

Samsung Electronics is emerging as the leading supplier of sixth-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) to Nvidia and AMD as of February 2026, backed by growing confidence in its production ramp.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Analysis: SK Hynix's exclusive supply to Microsoft reflects HBM3E market consolidation

Recent reports indicate that SK Hynix has become the exclusive HBM supplier for Microsoft's next-generation AI accelerator, Maia 200, underscoring its competitiveness in the HBM3E market. As medium- to long-term demand expands, Microsoft may eventually adopt a multi-supplier approach, which could intensify market competition.

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