Catenaa, Tuesday, January 06, 2026- Chip stocks rallied to start the year, led by the world’s biggest memory chip firms that are getting a boost from continued AI-related demand.
South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, the world’s two biggest memory makers, are up 11.5% and 15.9% respectively year-to-date. Micron is 13.5% higher this year.
Memory is a core component of the type of chips required to train and run AI models such as those designed by Nvidia and AMD. As tech giants continue to spend billions of dollars buying those chips and building out AI data centers, memory is in short supply.
In particular, a specific component called dynamic random-access memory or DRAM, which is used in AI data centers, saw a huge price spike in 2025. Memory prices are expected to rise another 40% through the second quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research.
This is seen as positive for Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron as they are expected to be in a position to charge a higher price for their memory chips as demand shows no sign of abating.
Investor sentiment is positive on these names as they prepare to report their fourth-quarter earnings in the coming week, with analysts expecting a huge profit surge.
Samsung is seen reporting a 140% jump in fourth-quarter operating profit, according to LSEG estimates. Meanwhile, Micron’s earnings per share are expected to rise more than 400% year-on-year in the December quarter.
The rally in memory chip stocks has fed through to other parts of the supply chain as investors expect strong AI demand seen in 2025 to continue this year.
Intel shares are up nearly 6%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s biggest semiconductor maker, has risen nearly 10%. Both companies, which manufacture various types of semiconductors, are seen benefiting from a continued AI boom.
