Memory squeeze set to tighten through 2028, Micron says
Executive Take
Budget for higher hardware costs through 2028, not just next year. Lock in multiyear pricing contracts now, before your remaining negotiating leverage disappears.
Executive Summary
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra says memory and storage supply will be tighter in 2027 and 2028 than in 2026, with no clear timeline for supply-demand balance. DRAM prices rose nearly 20% and NAND about 30% last quarter. Micron has already committed over 75% of its 2027 output. TrendForce forecasts further price hikes and IDC expects PC prices to rise 17% in 2026.
Why It Matters
Technology and finance leaders face multi-year cost pressure on servers and PCs, not a temporary spike. CIOs must decide now which refreshes to delay and which to protect with long-term supply contracts.
Bizquad Perspective
Most leaders are planning around a 2026 price spike when the real fight is who locks in 2028 supply contracts first, since Micron says most deals are already set.