Memory Prices Rebound Due to Reduced Production, Increasing Demand

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Taiwanese memory and SSD suppliers are optimistic about Q4 following great Q3 results.

Phison I/O+ SSD Firmware
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Memory makers are witnessing increasing prices as production reductions lead to price rises in both DRAM and NAND segments. Companies like Adata, Phison, and Winbond are experiencing improved revenues in September and Q3, with an overall positive future outlook, reports UDN.com.

The memory industry is seeing positive growth, especially after production cuts by leading makers such as Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix. Phison, a leading developer of SSD controllers and a supplier of actual drives, has reported an increase in September revenues, achieving NT$50.04 billion ($1.557 billion). This is a 25.38% monthly increase and a 4.05% yearly increment, marking a 14-month high. The company's Q3 earnings also showed an encouraging 24% quarter-over-quarter growth, despite a year-over-year drop of 15%. Cumulatively, Phison's revenue for the first three quarters was down by 32%, standing at NT$324.74 billion ($10.1 billion).

Adata, leveraging both the production benefits and the recovery of DRAM and NAND prices, presented remarkable figures. The company's September revenue landed at NT$14.82 billion ($461.2 million), which is a monthly increase of 16.47% and an impressive annual growth of 113.10%. Adata's Q3 revenue amounted to NT$36.48 billion ($1.135 billion), with a 35.5% decline from the previous quarter but a significant 116.33% yearly spike. Their earnings for the first three quarters were great, too: at NT$108.72 billion ($3.383 billion), it indicated a 119.22% yearly increase, setting unprecedented highs.

Optimism surrounds the fourth quarter as well, especially for Adata. The company aims to capitalize on upcoming major shopping events like Singles' Day and Christmas. With plans to meld online and offline sales strategies, they are poised for an even more profitable season, according to the report. Furthermore, Adata's leader, Chen Libai, has highlighted signs of industry revival and anticipates DRAM and NAND Flash contract prices to ascend by 10%-15%. He believes that both spot and contract rates for these memory components will sustain this upward trajectory.

Winbond, a producer of memory focused primarily on specialty memory, also faces rejuvenated customer demand. Their financials for September showcased a revenue of NT$ 67.66 billion ($2.1 billion), reflecting a 5.32% growth from the previous month and a 7.96% decline year-over-year. The company's quarterly earnings for Q3 amounted to NT$ 195.06 billion ($6.07 billion), a rise of 3.69% from the previous quarter and a drop of 11.92% compared to the previous year. The total revenue accumulated over the first three quarters was NT$ 558.32 billion ($17.375 billion), marking a 25.86% annual decrease.

Anton Shilov
Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Kamen Rider Blade
    If the big DRAM makers want to make sure that DRAM never gets too low in price, make sure all devices have as much DRAM as possible.

    That means ALL nVME SSD's have DRAM, no exceptions.
    ALL HDD's have the largest DRAM Chip capacity possible.
    etc.

    Get iGPU's to use GDDR on top of normal DRAM.
    Reply
  • Li Ken-un
    Kamen Rider Blade said:
    If the big DRAM makers want to make sure that DRAM never gets too low in price, make sure all devices have as much DRAM as possible.
    DRAM for all the things! You get a chip. And you get a chip! And you get a chip!

    Maybe some company should build a U.2 NVRAM drive—that mere mortals can buy unlike Radian’s RMS-375—made of all these DRAM chips, backed by an equal helping of SLC NAND.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    Low priced memory did not last very long :(
    Reply
  • AgentBirdnest
    About a dozen SSDs that I have my eye on, at all capacities, from budget SATA to high-end PCIe 4.0 - have jumped between 10-20% in price over the last couple of weeks.
    That puts them back at like... maybe May or June prices? So, not really the worst thing in the world. Still, it's quite a jump from one month to the next. Now is the time to buy SSDs if you need/want 'em. (Well, a month ago was the best time, but now is probably the second-best time.)
    Reply
  • watzupken
    The question is whether this is a sustainable rebound. Companies may from time to time restock, and hence, create the impression of a "comeback". This may happen especially when the likes of Micron, Samsung, and other big time players, are cutting supply, which may cause companies or individuals to try and stock up. The overall economic condition isn't in a good shape, and I have doubts demand will stay strong for long.
    Reply
  • Hotrod2go
    Just as well I ordered another M.2 drive this morning.
    Reply
  • umeng2002_2
    Hotrod2go said:
    Just as well I ordered another M.2 drive this morning.

    Now you know the point of these articles and reports. Just like how there are always reports of turkey or cranberries right around Thanksgiving.
    Reply
  • Hotrod2go
    umeng2002_2 said:
    Now you know the point of these articles and reports. Just like how there are always reports of turkey or cranberries right around Thanksgiving.
    Maybe, but the prices for storage devices in my part of the world have been consistent for several months already anyway.
    Reply
  • umeng2002_2
    That's my point, these reports are designed to create FOMO buying or manipulate stock prices.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    Kamen Rider Blade said:
    If the big DRAM makers want to make sure that DRAM never gets too low in price, make sure all devices have as much DRAM as possible.
    Raise prices too much by cramming more stuff than what most people need into stuff and sales will slow down due to prices being too high for the people's liking no matter how much extra stuff you try to throw at them. You can only derive so much of your income from whales who will buy almost anything regardless of price. The rest of the market wants fair products at fair prices which usually necessitates some feature and performance balancing effort to produce something desirable for a decent chunk of the market at a given price point.
    Reply