Breaking from Bloomberg: RAMmageddon is here! A global shortage of memory chips is hitting profits across the entire tech chain, from smartphones → gaming consoles → all things tech. Key data at a glance, directly slapping cyclical theorists in the face: - Hyperscale data center capex: $360 billion in 2025 → skyrocketing to $650 billion in 2026 (AI infrastructure boom) - HBM demand YoY: +70% - HBM share of total DRAM wafer production: 19% last year → 23% this year (high-end chips hogging capacity, squeezing out regular DRAM) - Certain DRAM prices: up 75% from December to January (retailers adjusting prices daily) - Sony PS6 likely delayed to 2028-2029 (memory shortage choking the supply chain) The biggest winners are obvious: Samsung, SK Hynix, and MU (Micron) — they’re raking in profits from the AI memory supercycle. Yet Korean memory giants are still trading at just 4-5x forward PE (the market hasn’t fully woken up yet, valuation remains a goldmine). Micron execs bluntly stated: This is the most severe demand-supply mismatch in scale and duration in 25 years (unprecedented mismatch). Exposure plays (ranked from broad to narrow, for different risk appetites): - EWY (Korea ETF, heavy on memory stocks) - FLKR (Korean small-cap ETF, potential for catch-up gains) - MU (pure memory player, most direct beneficiary) - SNDK (if still active, or related storage chain) The memory supercycle is unfolding in real-time. AI is draining HBM supply, squeezing capacity for regular DRAM, which is now taking off. Downstream: price hikes, delays, and profit squeezes across the board — while the supply side’s big three are still partying at low valuations. The memory breakout cycle is just getting started.