Core Viewpoint - The global memory chip market is experiencing a significant supply crunch driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, leading to rising stock prices for major memory chip providers [1][2]. Group 1: Market Dynamics - The shortage of memory chips is described as "unprecedented" by Samsung co-CEO TM Roh, with expectations that supply constraints could last for months or even years [1]. - Memory chipmakers are reallocating manufacturing capacity towards high-bandwidth memory for AI servers, which is impacting the supply of other sectors, including flash chips used in USB drives and smartphones [2]. - Prices in certain memory chip segments have more than doubled since February of the previous year, indicating strong market demand and encouraging traders to bet on continued price increases [2]. Group 2: Company Performance - Micron's shares increased by over 3% in premarket trading, while SK Hynix and Samsung saw their shares rise nearly 3% and 7.5%, respectively [3]. - Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra anticipates that memory markets will remain tight beyond 2026, with Micron's shares having surged 240% in 2025, significantly outperforming the benchmark chip index's 42% gain [3]. - Samsung's shares more than doubled in value last year, and SK Hynix's shares increased nearly four-fold, reflecting strong performance amid the supply crunch [3]. Group 3: Industry Outlook - Smaller memory chip companies such as SanDisk, Western Digital, Applied Digital, and Seagate Technology experienced stock increases between 2.5% and 4.5% in premarket trading [4]. - Analysts from Morningstar and J.P. Morgan suggest that the current upturn in the memory chip market, often referred to as the "supercycle," may continue well into 2027 [4].