Why the +10% move matters
This is not a random bounce. It reflects capital rotating back into the AI memory bottleneck trade.
HBM is now structurally tight. If Micron’s HBM4 ramp accelerates meaningfully into 2026, ASP strength plus mix shift could drive:
• higher gross margins
• sustained pricing power
• multi-year visibility
Memory is no longer purely cyclical. It is partially strategic infrastructure.
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Is $450 “easy”?
That depends on three variables:
1️⃣ HBM4 execution
If Micron secures incremental AI GPU share and ramps without yield issues, earnings revisions will follow quickly.
2️⃣ Supply discipline
If competitors avoid overbuilding, margins hold. If supply floods in 2027, multiples compress.
3️⃣ Valuation expansion
Memory typically trades mid-cycle multiples. To justify $450, the market must treat HBM as structural, not cyclical.
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What about SanDisk?
SNDK benefits from enterprise SSD and AI data centre storage growth. However, NAND remains more cyclical than HBM. Its rally is more beta-driven.
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Bottom line
$450 is achievable if HBM remains structurally undersupplied into 2026 and margins expand sustainably.
If this becomes another memory super-cycle peak, it will not be easy.
The key question is whether AI demand has permanently changed memory’s earnings profile.
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