Micron's CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told investors this week that demand for memory is set to outrun supply through at least 2028, with the squeeze actually tightening in 2027 and 2028. For anyone building a gaming PC or upgrading a phone, that is not good news.
The company posted quarterly revenue of $54.2 billion, up 379 percent year-over-year, with net income of $38.4 billion. Stock has climbed roughly 500 percent in a year. The numbers are eye-watering because the AI build-out is soaking up memory production that used to serve regular consumers. Micron is already walking away from the consumer RAM market, and rivals are following, according to kotaku.com.
What happened
- Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said demand will exceed supply in both 2027 and 2028.
- Quarterly revenue hit $54.2 billion, with net income of $38.4 billion.
- Stock is up roughly 500 percent year-over-year.
- HBM (high bandwidth memory) for 2027 is largely already sold out at higher prices than 2026.
- Micron announced it is leaving the consumer RAM market in December 2024.
- Industry memory prices have reportedly risen as much as 500 percent in 12 months.
Why this matters
AI data centers are eating the world's memory supply. Clean rooms take years to build and production ramps up slowly once they exist. So even if Micron wanted to flood the market tomorrow, it can't. That leaves gamers, PC builders, and phone buyers competing for whatever's left on the shelf.
The longer-term problem is structural. With Micron exiting consumer RAM and other vendors expected to follow, the days of cheap, abundant memory are gone for the foreseeable future. Anyone planning a new build, a console upgrade, or even a mid-range Android phone refresh should plan for higher memory costs as a default, not a surprise.
What the HBM angle means
Mehrotra singled out high bandwidth memory, the kind used in AI accelerators, as basically sold out for 2027 at higher prices than 2026. That locks in revenue for Micron, but it also confirms the priority. AI customers get allocated memory first. Consumer and gaming allocations are what falls off the truck. Expect DDR5 kits, laptop SODIMMs, and phone-grade LPDDR to all stay expensive.
A practical scenario for our readers
Say you were planning a mid-range gaming PC build in the near future. A few months ago, mid-tier memory kits were a budget line item. Today, with memory prices reportedly up as much as 500 percent in 12 months, they are a significant chunk of the parts list, and stock is patchy. The right move now is to stop waiting for a price crash that isn't coming and either buy memory early for any planned build, or trim ambitions and lean on a smaller kit with a near-future upgrade path when stock returns. Android users in the market for a new phone should expect higher-tier memory configurations to keep creeping up in price.
Bottom line
Memory isn't getting cheaper through 2028, and the consumer market is the lowest priority for the companies making it. If you're building, buy memory early. If you're shopping for a phone, expect RAM to cost more across the board. There is no relief in sight.
Frequently asked questions
Why are RAM prices so high right now?
Demand from AI data centers has soaked up the bulk of memory production, with supply unable to keep up.
When will RAM prices come back down?
According to Micron's CEO, supply will not catch up with demand through at least 2028, with conditions tightening in 2027 and 2028.
Is Micron still selling consumer RAM?
Micron announced in December 2024 that it is exiting the consumer RAM market, focusing instead on enterprise customers.
How much have memory prices risen?
Industry reports suggest memory prices have jumped as much as 500 percent in a 12-month period.
Inspired by reporting from: kotaku.com