Storage enters a new wave of strong cycle! Wedbush: prices for some products may rise up to 150%

Wedbush, a well-known Wall Street investment bank, recently pointed out that the surge in memory demand driven by AI infrastructure development and supply shortages will push the prices of some memory products up by over 100%.

In a report released on Monday, Wedbush analysts stated that DRAM and NAND storage prices are rapidly increasing, and they expect that by the second quarter of 2026, prices will have risen by triple digits compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. Specifically, DRAM prices are expected to increase by 130% to 150%, with NAND prices approaching this level, indicating that the storage market is entering a new strong cycle.

This is undoubtedly good news for memory manufacturers like Micron Technology, Seagate Technology, and Western Digital.

“An improving memory market is expected,” Wedbush said. “But this price increase highlights the continued significant improvement since the first quarter, which aligns perfectly with our recent positive research on the memory industry and Micron’s impressive performance and guidance.”

Micron’s recent financial report showed that in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, revenue nearly doubled to $23.86 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $20.07 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $12.20, well above the expected $9.31. For the third quarter, the company forecasts revenue of about $33.5 billion, soaring from $9.3 billion a year earlier, with growth exceeding 200%, far surpassing analysts’ expectations of $24.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to be around $19.15, also well above the forecast of $12.05.

The supply shortage is also affecting other parts of the hardware ecosystem. Wedbush pointed out that, due to demand consistently exceeding supply, hard drive manufacturers may demand higher contract prices.

“Considering this background and the further widening of the supply-demand gap, we believe HDD (hard disk drive) suppliers will adopt more aggressive contract pricing strategies in the future than previously suggested,” Wedbush said.

Meanwhile, with strong supply chain relationships, NVIDIA seems well-prepared to ensure the supply of components needed for its AI systems. CEO Jensen Huang recently stated that he expects NVIDIA’s Blackwell and Rubin systems to secure about $1 trillion in orders.

Wedbush noted that NVIDIA’s announced collaborations (including last week’s partnership with Amazon), its proactive research on demand for 2026–2027 across manufacturers and supply chains, and NVIDIA’s top-tier component sourcing capabilities all support this goal.

However, not all tech market sectors are showing the same strength. Wedbush pointed out that industry insiders are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the PC and mobile phone markets this year.

Wedbush noted that many PC-related companies are supported by server business demand, but overall market sentiment is weakening. In fact, current industry feedback indicates that, after Apple, PC and mobile phone shipments could decline by as much as 20% year-over-year.