Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Outperform" rating for the storage industry [2] Core Insights - The current storage price increase cycle is primarily driven by AI, leading to a structural demand shift in the industry. The demand for high bandwidth and low latency storage is surging due to the rapid growth in AI training and inference, which is expected to continue driving prices upward [4][9] - The supply of storage chips remains tight, with major manufacturers like SanDisk, Samsung, and SK Hynix announcing price increases, indicating a constrained supply environment [4][13] - The domestic storage industry is expected to benefit from the ongoing high demand and the push for self-sufficiency, with companies like Changxin Technology and Yangtze Memory Technologies expanding production capacity [4][54] Summary by Sections AI Demand Explosion Driving Storage Industry "Super Cycle" - The storage demand is shifting from traditional capacity-driven models to performance-driven models, influenced by AI. The expected global data generation volume is projected to reach 393.9ZB by 2028, significantly impacting storage requirements [9] - AI servers are anticipated to see a 20.9% year-on-year increase in shipments in 2026, with their share of total server shipments rising to 17.2% [9][12] Structural Supply Tightness Driving Continued Price Increases - DRAM supply is tightening as major manufacturers prioritize advanced process capacities for high-end server DRAM and HBM, leading to price increases for DDR4 and NAND products [17][21] - NAND demand is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% from 2024 to 2030, driven by data center needs, particularly from AI workloads [36][39] Acceleration of Domestic Production, Favoring the Domestic Storage Industry Chain - The domestic storage industry is poised for growth due to the ongoing high demand and the trend towards self-sufficiency. Companies like Changxin Technology are expanding their production capabilities, with plans to increase their monthly output significantly by 2025 [54][55] - The report highlights the importance of the entire storage supply chain, including design, manufacturing, and testing, which are expected to benefit from the current high demand cycle [54][60]