
Concerns over potential 2029 oversupply and the sustainability of the current AI-driven memory boom
Analysts and experts discuss the sustainability of the AI-driven memory chip boom, debating whether a potential 2029 supply surplus could trigger a market downturn or if long-term agreements have fundamentally altered the industry's traditional boom-and-bust cycle.
AI-generated summary
Memory chip markets have historically followed a boom-and-bust cycle driven by supply-demand imbalances. Current industry trends involve long-term agreements to stabilize prices.
"The issue, of course, was with any architectural change ... you can make the chips, but what yield are you getting? If you're only getting a 50% yield, you're literally putting half the chips in the bin because they don't work very well," Ben Barringer, global head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday.
Kevin Cassidy, a senior research analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, also said the developments at CXMT are unlikely to add more supply of memory onto the market.
"We don't think this is going to swing the supply-demand equation at all," Cassidy told CNBC.
Traders are also discussing comments from an opinion column in Maeil Business Newspaper, a prominent South Korean publication, in which a reporter urged the country's government to prepare for a slowdown in the AI boom and to identify and develop the next big growth engine.
The writer said that two people — Professor Hwang of the Seoul National University and Ahn Ki-hyun, executive director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association — expect to see a "flood of new supply" that will turn the memory market "into a red ocean" in 2029, according to a CNBC translation. By 2030, "the supercycle could be over and the industry could enter a downturn," the writer said.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the article in a post on X, saying that China "will be making a LOT of RAM in 2028."
Random access memory (RAM) is produced by the likes of SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron as well as CXMT in China.
An oversupply of RAM in 2029 would pose yet another headwind for memory stocks, with lower prices and a squeeze on profit margins. But a forecast that far out hasn't been echoed by other analysts.
Typically, the biggest customers for memory chips have been consumer electronics companies, because memory is a key component of devices like smartphones and laptops.
But with the AI boom picking up pace, memory has also become a key component of Nvidia chips and other parts of the data center supply chain. With demand increasing, supply has tightened, leading to unprecedented price rises.
That has led to huge rallies in the share price of Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, the three biggest memory makers. But a key question for investors is whether the industry’s typical boom-and-bust cycle is finally changing.
Memory prices have traditionally surged when demand outstrips supply, only to fall as manufacturers ramp up production and the market becomes oversupplied. Investors are trying to work out if that cycle no longer exists or whether there has been a fundamental change.
All of the major memory makers are currently in the process of expanding capacity, but it takes around three to five years for a factory to be built and come online.
That has led many analysts to forecast that the shortage won't ease until 2028 — but that might not necessarily lead to huge price declines.
Counterpoint Research sees the price of DRAM, another key type of memory, falling around 23% in 2028 compared with 2027. However, the DRAM price would still be up around 230% compared to 2025.
"The current memory market is considered to be in a 'New Normal' era, and the down cycle will differ from previous ones," Jeongku Choi, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.
"Suppliers and buyers enter into 3- to 5-year Long-Term Agreements (LTAs), involving substantial upfront payments and established upper and lower price limits to ensure consistency. Consequently, even if a down cycle occurs, it is not expected to show the same sharp decline seen in the past."

David Zervos, counselor to the U.S. Treasury Secretary, challenged the IMF's credibility regarding U.S. fiscal policy, citing the organization's history of inaccurate economic forecasts. The remarks follow IMF warnings about U.S. federal debt sustainability.

Food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats have become a staple for Gen Z, but frequent users report a sense of 'delivery guilt' and embarrassment over high costs, hidden fees, and societal judgment.

Banque de France Governor Emmanuel Moulin insists France can slash its budget deficit to 3% by 2029 despite political instability, high borrowing costs, and upcoming budget hurdles in the National Assembly.

Global stock markets tumbled as an accelerating sell-off in AI-linked shares and higher-than-expected US inflation of 3.7% in September sparked fears of impending interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Global AI and semiconductor stocks suffered steep declines, wiping over $1 trillion in market value this week amid rising interest rates, financing concerns, and memory oversupply fears.

Global technology hardware stocks plunged on Thursday, led by sharp losses among Asian and European chipmakers, driven by fears of Federal Reserve rate hikes, high AI infrastructure financing costs, and potential memory chip oversupply.