Micron, one of the world’s largest memory manufacturers, made a statement that resonated in the technology world, announcing that the global DRAM shortage will continue beyond 2026. Despite achieving a record revenue of $13.64 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended on November 27, 2025, the company clearly demonstrated that the supply crisis in the market is not a short-term problem.

How long will the RAM crisis last?

Miron management emphasized that strong demand from data centers and AI workloads has exceeded current production capacity, and that these constrained market conditions will continue into the next calendar year. This prediction is leading large technology companies to enter into multi-year contracts to ensure supply security, while causing spot prices to climb in both the enterprise and retail memory markets.

One of the main reasons for this deep imbalance between supply and demand is the increase in the production of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which is essential for AI hardware.

Micron announced that all of its HBM (Head-Mounted Memory) production capacity for 2026 has already been reserved in terms of price and quantity, and that all stock has been sold. HBM production requires three times the silicon wafer area compared to standard DDR5 memory.

This situation is causing limited production resources to be shifted to data centers and AI projects, thus reducing the share allocated to the traditional personal computer market. The manufacturer is managing these limited resources by prioritizing buyers who offer higher profit margins and long-term commitments.