Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 6
Apple Warns Memory Costs Will Rise Again in Q3 as Tight Supply Lifts Chip Prices
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 6

Apple Warns Memory Costs Will Rise Again in Q3 as Tight Supply Lifts Chip Prices

2 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 6

Summary

  • Tim Cook said Apple expects memory costs to be “even higher” in the current quarter after already paying significantly more in the June quarter than in March.
  • Apple’s warning points to a sustained supply crunch rather than a brief spike, with demand for DRAM, NAND and HBM still outstripping available capacity.
  • Micron has been a key beneficiary because its memory output is largely sold out under multiyear agreements, and shortages are expected to persist into 2027.
  • Micron shares had tripled in the first half of 2026 before falling 26% from a late-June peak, a pullback the report links more to profit-taking and cycle fears than weakening AI demand.

Insights

If AI returns disappoint, can Micron's $100 billion in ironclad contracts truly protect it from the sector's notorious boom-and-bust cycle?
Will a massive influx of supply from emerging Chinese competitors disrupt the memory oligopoly before this AI super-cycle peaks?
Could breakthroughs in AI model compression bypass the looming memory wall and abruptly end the high-bandwidth memory shortage?