Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) sign on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, January 2, 2026 in New York, USA.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Semiconductor stocks have risen since the start of the year, led by the world’s largest memory chip companies, which have been helped by continued demand related to artificial intelligence.
The world’s two largest memory manufacturers, South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, have risen 11.5% and 15.9%, respectively, since the beginning of the year. micron This year it is 9% higher.
Memory is a core component of the chip needed to train and run AI models. Nvidia and AMD. Memory is in short supply as tech giants continue to spend billions of dollars buying these chips and building AI data centers.
In particular, the price of a certain component used in AI data centers called dynamic random access memory (DRAM) increased significantly in 2025. According to Counterpoint Research, memory prices are expected to rise another 40% by the second quarter of 2026.
“The recent rally across the semiconductor industry has been primarily driven by the memory side of the market rather than logic chips,” Ben Ballinger, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC in an email.
“We are seeing a combination of very strong demand from AI workloads and relatively limited supply, especially in high-bandwidth memory, which is essential for training and running large-scale AI models.”
This is being viewed as a positive as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are expected to be in a position to raise prices for memory chips as demand shows no signs of slowing down. Investor sentiment is positive for these stocks, which are set to report fourth-quarter results next week, with analysts predicting a big jump in profits.
According to LSEG estimates, Samsung is expected to see a 140% increase in operating profit in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Micron’s earnings per share are expected to rise more than 400% in the December quarter from a year ago.
Micron and ASML stock prices have risen so far this year.
The rally in memory chip stocks is spilling over into other parts of the supply chain, as investors expect the strong AI demand seen in 2025 to continue this year.
intel The stock price is up nearly 7%, but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. The world’s largest semiconductor maker rose nearly 10%. Both companies, which make various types of semiconductors, are expected to benefit from the continuing AI boom.
meanwhile, ASMLa Dutch company that designs the critical machinery needed to make the world’s most advanced chips, has seen its stock rise nearly 14% this year.
Bernstein on Sunday raised his price target for ASML stock to 1,300 euros from 800 euros ($937), implying an upside of about 24% from Tuesday’s trading price.
“ASML stands to benefit significantly from the wave of memory chip capacity expansion planned for 2026 and 2027,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note Sunday. The analysts added that ASML will benefit “from the upcoming DRAM supercycle.”
Analysts expect memory makers such as Samsung and others to ramp up memory production capacity, which would benefit ASML because its tools will be needed to make more advanced memory chips.
“SK Hynix’s recent comments pointing to the possibility of an HBM supercycle reinforced the idea that this is not just a short-term recovery, but a more structural change related to the ongoing build-out of AI infrastructure,” Ballinger said.
“This is helping to improve sentiment across the sector, especially for companies directly exposed to AI-driven memory demand.”
