Memory chip giants spark global semiconductor rally as shortages stoke price hikes

Semiconductor stocks rallied to commencement the year, led by the world's biggest representation spot firms that are getting a boost from continued artificial intelligence-related demand.

South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, the world's 2 biggest representation makers, are up 11.5% and 15.9% respectively year-to-date. Micron is 9% higher this year.

Memory is simply a halfway constituent of the benignant of chips required to bid and tally AI models specified arsenic those designed by Nvidia and AMD. As tech giants proceed to walk billions of dollars buying those chips and gathering retired AI information centers, memory is successful abbreviated supply.

In particular, a circumstantial constituent called dynamic random-access representation oregon DRAM, which is utilized successful AI information centers, saw a immense terms spike successful 2025. Memory prices are expected to emergence different 40% done the 2nd 4th of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research.

"The caller rally crossed the semiconductor abstraction has been driven mostly by the representation broadside of the marketplace alternatively than logic chips," Ben Barringer, caput of exertion probe astatine Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC by email.

"We're seeing a operation of precise beardown request from AI workloads and comparatively constrained supply, peculiarly successful high-bandwidth memory, which is indispensable for grooming and moving ample AI models."

This is seen arsenic affirmative for Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron arsenic they are expected to beryllium successful a presumption to complaint a higher terms for their representation chips arsenic request shows nary motion of abating. Investor sentiment is affirmative connected these names arsenic they hole to study their fourth-quarter net successful the coming week, with analysts expecting a immense nett surge.

Samsung is seen reporting a 140% leap successful fourth-quarter operating profit, according to LSEG estimates. Meanwhile, Micron's net per stock are expected to emergence much than 400% year-on-year successful the December quarter.

Micron and ASML stocks person rallied this twelvemonth truthful far.

The rally successful representation spot stocks has fed done to different parts of the proviso concatenation arsenic investors expect beardown AI request seen successful 2025 to proceed this year.

Intel shares are up astir 7%, portion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. — the world's biggest semiconductor shaper — has risen astir 10%. Both companies, which manufacture assorted types of semiconductors, are seen benefiting from a continued AI boom.

Meanwhile, ASML, the Dutch steadfast that designs captious machines required to manufacture the astir precocious chips successful the world, has seen its shares emergence astir 14% this year.

Bernstein connected Sunday raised its terms people for ASML's banal from 800 euros ($937) to 1,300 euros, implying a astir 24% emergence from Tuesday's trading price.

"ASML stands to payment enormously from the question of capableness enlargement planned for 2026 and 2027," with representation chips, Bernstein analysts wrote successful their enactment connected Sunday. The analysts added that ASML volition payment "from the upcoming DRAM ace cycle."

Analysts expect representation makers similar Samsung and different manufacturers to summation their accumulation capableness for memory, which volition payment ASML due to the fact that its tools are needed to marque these much precocious representation chips.

"Recent comments from SK Hynix pointing to a imaginable HBM supercycle person reinforced the thought that this is not conscionable a short-term bounce, but a much structural displacement linked to the ongoing build-out of AI infrastructure," Barringer said.

"That has helped amended sentiment crossed the sector, particularly for companies with nonstop vulnerability to AI-driven representation demand."