Memory chip prices continue to rise a number of industrial chain enterprises to benefit

In the beginning of 2024, memory chips continue the rebound trend of last year and usher in a new round of price increases. The world's leading memory chip companies, such as Samsung and Micron, are planning to raise DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chip prices by 15% to 20% in the first quarter of 2024.

Jibang Consulting analyst Wu Yating said in an interview with Securities Daily that according to the latest research results, it is expected that the global market DRAM contract price will increase by 13% to 18% in the first quarter of 2024, continuing the rising trend in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Storage prices bottomed out in 2023. "The average spot price of typical DRAM pellets bottomed out in September 2023, the average price of typical DRAM memory channels bottomed out in August 2023, and the average price of typical NAND Flash (flash memory) contracts bottomed out in April 2023," Guolian Securities analyst Xiong Jun said in a research report.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, DRAM and NAND Flash contract prices both achieved 13% to 18% increases, and this increase continued in the first quarter of this year.

"After the production reduction of the upstream storage original factory, the inventory is rapidly removed, and the superposition of the original factory is committed to improving the profitability, resulting in a large increase in prices." Jibang consulting analyst Wang Yuqi told the Securities Daily reporter, however, the terminal sales situation remains to be seen.

Jianghai Securities analyst Qu Xiongfeng said that with the gradual recovery of downstream traditional consumer electronics demand and the steady growth of server demand, the demand for memory chips will also usher in corresponding growth. At the same time, the price increase trend will drive the demand of buyers and dealers, and the price increase of memory chips may continue for some time in the future.

Semiconductor industry is a typical strong cyclical industry, 4 to 5 years to complete a cycle. According to the World Association of Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), memory chips will lead the global semiconductor market growth in 2024, with sales jumping 44.8% year on year.

Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Securities Daily reporter: "Memory chips are the first to rebound in semiconductor products, and the rebound is large, which can be seen as a signal of the semiconductor industry's warming." Memory chips are an important part of the semiconductor market, and rising prices will help drive other categories of semiconductor products into the upward channel."

With the rising price of memory chips, the improvement of performance of listed companies in the industrial chain has attracted market attention. Zhaoyi Innovation has achieved a quarter-on-quarter increase in gross profit margin in the third quarter of 2023. Oriental Securities research report said that the gross profit margin stage bottom has passed. With the inventory reduction, the cost structure of Zhaoyi's innovative products is expected to be further improved.