Memory-chip prices are expected to peak this year as AI workloads sustain elevated demand, with indications of a late-stage upcycle forming.
Global memory-chip prices look set to peak this year as a fast-moving upcycle shows signs of moderation while demand from artificial-intelligence workloads stays elevated.
The South China Morning Post reported that Morgan Stanley warned the memory cycle would enter its late stage in the fourth quarter, with price increases moderating and inventories building, and that continuing data-centre spending coincides with Chinese producers preparing to add more supply.
That signal sits alongside the broader industry picture, suppliers reallocated capacity toward high-bandwidth and server memory, pushing prices sharply through 2025 and early 2026 and producing forecasts of tightness into 2027, and is complicated by ongoing company-level moves such as AP Memory's appointment of former Qualcomm vice-president Jian Zhang to its global leadership team.
Market-watchers will be looking to fourth-quarter pricing and inventory updates as the proximate test of whether the rapid price gains roll over into a sustained downshift, the timing Morgan Stanley flagged as the late-stage transition late stage.
