BusinessMarkets, money & strategy
AI data-center demand shifts memory pricing power from Apple to chip suppliers like Samsung and Kioxia
After years of winning steep discounts, Apple now pays memory suppliers' asking prices as AI hyperscalers lock up DRAM and NAND supply. Apple says memory costs more than explain its expected September-quarter gross margin drop to 47–48% from 50.1%.
From the WSJ · Technology article of October 29, 2026 and cited sources: Bargaining power has moved from purchase volume to committed capacity. [1] [2] [4] [5]
SOURCES[1] Apple Squeezed These Chip Suppliers for Years. AI Is… wsj.com[2] The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple wsj.com[4] iPhone in Canada: Apple losing leverage iphoneincanada.ca
AT Pulse research deskPublished · Updated · 5 min read · AI-assisted analysisAI-assisted, not human-edited. Methodology Corrections Who owns this site
- What happened
- Bargaining power has moved from purchase volume to committed capacity. [1] [2] [4] [5] [8]
- Original source
- WSJ · Technology article, independent perspective
- Brief by
- AT Pulse research desk AI-assisted; publisher and contact on the desk page
- When
- October 29, 2026 article published
- Covered
- Oct 29 edition
- Evidence
- 11 sources across 7 sites
- 1Apple Squeezed These Chip Suppliers for Years. AI Is…wsj.com
- 2The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Applewsj.com
- 3Yahoo Finance: Apple Q3 2026 earnings call highlightsfinance.yahoo.com
- 4iPhone in Canada: Apple losing leverageiphoneincanada.ca
- 5TrendForce: Kioxia confirms 2026 NAND fully bookedtrendforce.com
- 6TrendForce: Apple eyes Chinese memory as leveragetrendforce.com
Reach: not measured yet
Bargaining power has moved from purchase volume to committed capacity. AI data-center buyers prepay and sign multi-year contracts. Kioxia said its entire 2026 NAND output was already booked, and SanDisk said eight customers took about half of its FY2027 NAND output under four-year deals backed by $16.5B in guarantees. [1] [2] [4] [5] [8]
The price increases are large and are reaching Apple's results. TrendForce estimates that NAND contract prices rose 55–60% in Q1 2026 and 70–75% in Q2. Samsung reportedly doubled its price for iPhone 17 LPDDR5X. Apple has raised Mac and iPad prices and expects memory to drive its margin decline. [3] [6] [7]
Prices may be close to a peak. Kioxia's CEO said NAND prices had risen enough after a roughly 70% one-quarter jump in average selling prices. TrendForce forecasts a slower 10–15% rise for Q3, and Kioxia and SanDisk plan a $31B expansion in Japan. As of September 9, Samsung, SK hynix and Micron had not echoed Kioxia's statement. [7] [10]
Apple's own guidance ties its margin squeeze to memory, and it has raised Mac and iPad prices.
Read the full assessment
Implication: devices may cost more or ship with less RAM and storage, which squeezes budgets for on-device AI as phones and AI servers compete for the same wafers.
Executive brief
Apple has spent years pushing memory makers into steep discounts. That has turned around. AI hyperscalers are buying up NAND flash and DRAM, and Apple now pays what suppliers ask. Apple says memory costs explain more than 100% of the expected drop in its September-quarter gross margin, to 47–48% from 50.1% (Yahoo Finance call recap). WSJ published the story on 2026-10-29 (WSJ; companion WSJ piece). Only the feed excerpt and summaries of the WSJ piece were reviewed, not the full text.
What changed and event timeline
WSJ says Apple is losing leverage
Suppliers charged Apple more because AI buyers lock in supply and pay upfront. TechInsights expected DRAM prices to reach about four times their 2023 level, and Apple could pay about $57 more in memory per base iPhone ().
Kioxia's 2026 NAND is sold out
Kioxia posted record quarterly revenue of ¥543.6B and said its entire 2026 NAND capacity was already booked, mainly because of AI data-center demand ().
Prices move to quarterly deals
Reports said Samsung got a 100% price increase on iPhone 17 LPDDR5X, some NAND quotes doubled, and Apple looked at China's YMTC and CXMT as leverage ().
Apple calls it a "100-year flood."
Apple raised Mac and iPad prices and guided September-quarter gross margin to 47–48%, with memory as the main cause ().
Kioxia caps prices
After NAND average selling prices rose about 70% in one quarter, Kioxia's CEO said prices had risen enough. He said Kioxia would try to stop further increases that could damage long-term AI demand ().
Capabilities and access
This is a supply-chain story, not a model release.
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This is a supply-chain story, not a model release. The parts involved:
- LPDDR5X DRAM in the iPhone 17 series, mostly from Samsung (TrendForce).
- NAND flash from Samsung, SK hynix and Kioxia. Apple's NAND supply was reportedly secured only through Q1 2026 (same source).
- Leading-edge processor nodes. Apple says limited capacity there also constrained iPhone, Mac and iPad supply (Yahoo Finance).
Technical analysis for researchers and developers
- The DRAM and NAND that go into iPhones are also critical for AI servers, so phones and data centers bid for the same wafers (iPhone in Canada).
- Enterprise SSDs and storage made up about 55% of Kioxia's revenue in that quarter (TrendForce).
- SanDisk said eight customers locked in about half of its FY2027 NAND output under four-year contracts backed by $16.5B in guarantees (search summary of Yahoo Finance coverage).
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- Shared parts. The DRAM and NAND that go into iPhones are also critical for AI servers, so phones and data centers bid for the same wafers (iPhone in Canada).
- Storage share. Enterprise SSDs and storage made up about 55% of Kioxia's revenue in that quarter (TrendForce).
- Contract terms. SanDisk said eight customers locked in about half of its FY2027 NAND output under four-year contracts backed by $16.5B in guarantees (search summary of Yahoo Finance coverage).
- Implication. Memory bandwidth and capacity in AI servers now compete directly with on-device AI hardware budgets.
Claims and evidence
- Memory accounts for more than 100% of Apple's sequential margin decline. This is Apple management's own statement (Yahoo Finance).
- Industry NAND contract prices rose 55–60% in Q1 2026 and 70–75% in Q2, with 10–15% forecast for Q3.
- Kioxia had an 80% gross margin. This comes from secondary reporting only and could not be checked against Kioxia's filings (FinanceFeeds).
Read the full section
- Memory accounts for more than 100% of Apple's sequential margin decline. This is Apple management's own statement (Yahoo Finance).
- Industry NAND contract prices rose 55–60% in Q1 2026 and 70–75% in Q2, with 10–15% forecast for Q3. These are TrendForce estimates as reported by FinanceFeeds. The figures suggest the rate of increase is slowing.
- Kioxia had an 80% gross margin. This comes from secondary reporting only and could not be checked against Kioxia's filings (FinanceFeeds).
- Samsung's 100% price increase and Apple's interest in Chinese memory come from unnamed sources in Asian press, aggregated by TrendForce. Apple has not confirmed them.
Context and prior work
- Apple's huge volumes long gave it pricing power over suppliers. WSJ's companion piece says Apple bullied flash makers into steep discounts (WSJ).
- Nvidia's CEO said Nvidia has overtaken Apple as TSMC's largest customer (iPhone in Canada).
- NAND makers cut output in the second half of 2025, which helped push prices up (TrendForce).
Read the full section
- Apple's past leverage. Apple's huge volumes long gave it pricing power over suppliers. WSJ's companion piece says Apple bullied flash makers into steep discounts (WSJ).
- TSMC. Nvidia's CEO said Nvidia has overtaken Apple as TSMC's largest customer (iPhone in Canada).
- Production cuts. NAND makers cut output in the second half of 2025, which helped push prices up (TrendForce).
- New capacity. Kioxia and SanDisk plan a $31B expansion in Japan (Japan Times).
Limitations, safety and contested findings
- The WSJ piece's full text was not reviewed, so its named suppliers and specific figures are not reflected here.
- Prices may be near a peak. Kioxia's price ceiling and TrendForce's slower Q3 forecast suggest this.
- About two points of Apple's 50.1% June-quarter margin came from one-time tariff refunds, so its underlying margin was already weaker than the headline figure (Pepperstone).
Read the full section
- Unreviewed article. The WSJ piece's full text was not reviewed, so its named suppliers and specific figures are not reflected here.
- Prices may be near a peak. Kioxia's price ceiling and TrendForce's slower Q3 forecast suggest this. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron had not echoed Kioxia's statement as of September 9 (FinanceFeeds).
- One-time help in the base quarter. About two points of Apple's 50.1% June-quarter margin came from one-time tariff refunds, so its underlying margin was already weaker than the headline figure (Pepperstone).
- Chinese suppliers are not a near-term fix. Regulatory and geopolitical barriers limit Apple's use of YMTC or CXMT, especially for the US market (TrendForce).
Business and practitioner implications
- Expect higher device prices or smaller storage and RAM configurations. Apple has already raised Mac and iPad prices (Yahoo Finance).
- Apple reports results on November 2, and analysts expect gross margin of about 47.6% (Pepperstone).
- Multi-year, prepaid capacity deals now beat volume as bargaining power. Buyers of SSDs and edge hardware should budget for quarterly repricing.
Read the full section
- Device prices and specs. Expect higher device prices or smaller storage and RAM configurations. Apple has already raised Mac and iPad prices (Yahoo Finance).
- Earnings test. Apple reports results on November 2, and analysts expect gross margin of about 47.6% (Pepperstone).
- Procurement. Multi-year, prepaid capacity deals now beat volume as bargaining power. Buyers of SSDs and edge hardware should budget for quarterly repricing.
- On-device AI. Running more AI on the device needs more RAM, and RAM now costs much more.
The source trail.
Sources (11)
Apple Squeezed These Chip Suppliers for Years. AI Is Helping Them Get Even.
Feed excerpt only.
wsj.comThe Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple
Related coverage; assess separately
wsj.com