The mobile phone supply chain experienced a broad decline, with Cowell (01415) falling 3.8% to HKD 27.36, BYD ELECTRONIC (00285) dropping 3% to HKD 34.92, LENS (06613) declining 2.66% to HKD 26.32, and Q TECH (01478) down 1.95% to HKD 9.06 at the time of writing. The topic "A box of memory modules is as expensive as an apartment in Shanghai" recently trended online, highlighting an unprecedented surge in global DRAM prices. Since July 2025, DRAM prices have risen rapidly, with most categories seeing increases exceeding 100%; data shows DDR4 and DDR5 memory have already doubled or tripled in price this year. Entering 2026, the price surge shows no signs of abating, instead accelerating further. CSC Financial pointed out that major manufacturers are successively raising prices or reducing product configurations, indicating the substantial cost pressure from soaring memory prices is now being passed downstream to end products. It noted that a temporary slowdown in consumer electronics sales is inevitable, and industry resources and pricing power may further concentrate towards leading brands with scale and supply chain advantages. China Merchants Securities believes that despite the low fundamental expectations for the consumer electronics sector in 2026 due to memory price increases, the trend of accelerated innovation in AI at the edge during 2026-2027 is clear. Major players like Apple, Google, and OAI are actively securing AI terminal entry points to achieve a closed loop connecting computing power, devices, and applications.
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