The memory market is approaching a danger point: Samsung and SK Hynix share prices have fallen to less than ten days. According to KB Securities, the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure has already created a shortage that may become more severe by 2027.
The reason is that capacity is reallocated in favor of HBM. This memory is assembled from multiple layers of DRAM, so its production directly competes with traditional wafers for the same manufacturing resources. Samsung and SK Hynix are actively increasing HBM supply for data centers, which is why the DDR5 and enterprise SSD segments are feeling the pressure. Analysts worry that a lack of inventory could trigger a new round of price increases.
The situation is likely to get worse as the industry transitions to HBM4, whose production will require more resources. According to KB Securities, investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure may reach US$1.3 trillion by 2026, an annual increase of 60%, of which memory accounts for approximately 57% of this expenditure. This shortage is already reflected in the cost of parts: against the backdrop of rising memory prices, NVIDIA graphics card prices have reportedly increased by 20-30%.
