MERITZ SECURITIES: ACCORDING TO CHANNEL CHECKS, MIDDLE EASTERN SOVEREIGN AI INVESTORS, INCLUDING THOSE IN SAUDI ARABIA, HAVE RECENTLY BEGUN DISCUSSING MID- TO LONG-TERM MEMORY PROCUREMENT PLANS WITH KOREAN MEMORY MANUFACTURERS.
- Amid this demand growth, upward pressure has begun to emerge in the server DRAM spot market.
- Prices are rising particularly sharply for high-end products, such as those with 6,400Mbps bus speeds.
- This suggests that intensifying investment competition among CSPs and frontier-model developers is increasingly focused on products designed to maximize performance, amid worsening supply shortages.
- Spot prices for 64GB DDR5 server DRAM products have risen steeply since mid-July.
- Recent prices have climbed to $3,100–$3,400, approximately 146% above the end-June contract price of around $1,380.
- ACCORDINGLY, SERVER DRAM CONTRACT PRICES IN 3Q26 COULD RISE BY MORE THAN THE MARKET’S CURRENT EXPECTATION OF APPROXIMATELY 15% QOQ DURING THE QUARTER.
- In particular, suppliers that adopted more customer-friendly and flexible pricing in 2Q26 are likely to see especially sharp price increases in 3Q26 and 4Q26.