TradingKey - In US pre-market trading on October 28, as of press time, Micron Technology (MU) gained 3.53% in pre-market trading to $961.52.
Musk's prediction that future memory demand for robotics could surpass all other application areas drew market attention; meanwhile, SK Hynix (SKHY) delivered third-quarter results that beat market expectations, further boosting sentiment across the memory chip sector.
[Source: TradingView]
On October 26, Musk stated in a reply to a user on social media platform X that future robotic demand for random-access memory (RAM) will exceed all other uses combined. He noted that robots need to execute tasks in the physical world, which could generate new memory demand in the future.
[Source: X]
With the development of humanoid robots and autonomous driving technology, demand for memory and storage products in related devices is expected to grow. Industry research predicts that humanoid robots will drive demand for low-power DRAM and high-capacity NAND flash memory.
However, whether robotic memory demand can reach the expected scale still depends on the pace of commercialization, mass production volume, and per-unit memory configuration. Such forecasts reflect long-term potential demand and may not necessarily translate into actual orders in the short term.
SK Hynix's third-quarter revenue surged 328% year-over-year to 104.62 trillion won (approximately $79 billion); operating profit rose 632% year-over-year to 83.33 trillion won, both setting quarterly highs, with operating profit topping market expectations of 76.7 trillion won. Growth in AI memory demand and expanded sales of high-value-added products fueled the company's performance.
The company also announced that total shareholder returns in 2026 are expected to reach approximately 100 trillion won, including at least 30 trillion won in cash dividends and at least 60 trillion won in share repurchases and cancellations. The company also plans to buy back 20 trillion won worth of shares, of which 10 trillion won will be repurchased and canceled, with another roughly 10 trillion won allocated for employee compensation.
SK Hynix's strong performance provides a positive signal for AI memory demand and serves as a reference for evaluating the demand outlook for companies such as Micron Technology.
However, memory demand driven by robotics remains in a long-term development phase, and Micron's short-term stock price performance still needs to be evaluated in conjunction with memory product prices, company earnings guidance, and overall market trends.
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