Micron Technology stock was rising early Monday. Analysts are still upbeat on the prospect of memory-chip price increases but warn the gains can't last indefinitely.
Micron shares were up 3.7% in premarket trading, after closing at a record $1,133.99 on Thursday. The stock is up more than 800% in the past 12 months amid booming memory-chip demand for artificial-intelligence hardware.
The stock was following South Korean rival SK Hynix higher. SK Hynix closed up 5.6% on Monday, overtaking Samsung Electronics to become South Korea's most valuable company amid the artificial-intelligence-driven chip boom.
ING economist Min Joo Kang argued in a research note on the South Korean economy on Monday that the memory-chip boom should keep going at least into next year.
"With 2026 HBM [high-bandwidth memory] prices rising by 20-30%, triple-digit chip export growth should continue into early 2027," wrote Kang.
However, the rise of Chinese companies ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies could eventually put pressure on global prices, although their client base is limited by national-security concerns. Yangtze Memory is building three new factories in China that would more than double its current capacity by the end of 2027, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the plans.
"We expect DRAM prices to soften around 2028 as structural supply conditions improve. In particular, Chinese chip makers are expected to complete new production lines," wrote Kang.
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