Memory testing and packaging firm Powertech Technology (PTI) reported that its revenue and earnings met expectations in the fourth quarter of 2025. Quarterly revenue reached NT$21.41 billion (approx. US$681.38 million), up 25.2% year-over-year. Net income attributable to the owners of the parent totaled NT$1.86 billion, increasing 21.2% quarterly and 22.3% year-over-year, while earnings per share stood at NT$2.52.

Memory giant Macronix (MXIC) has decided to resume its capital expenditure plan, allocating NT$22 billion (approx. US$704 million) in 2026 to aggressively expand its severely short-supplied MLC NAND production capacity and fill market gaps left by major players exiting MLC NAND.

Apple is set to report fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings on January 29, with strong sales of the iPhone 17 expected to drive record operating performance and solid smartphone shipments. The iPhone 17 lineup, which offers added features without price increases, has seen particularly strong demand in China and the US.

Samsung Electronics is emerging as the leading supplier of sixth-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) to Nvidia and AMD as of February 2026, backed by growing confidence in its production ramp.

Recent reports indicate that SK Hynix has become the exclusive HBM supplier for Microsoft's next-generation AI accelerator, Maia 200, underscoring its competitiveness in the HBM3E market. As medium- to long-term demand expands, Microsoft may eventually adopt a multi-supplier approach, which could intensify market competition.

A fresh wave of memory price hikes is sweeping across the semiconductor supply chain, spreading from AI memory products into manufacturing, packaging, and testing, and upstream materials and critical components. Known Good Die (KGD), long a low-profile yet tightly linked segment of the ecosystem, is now emerging as a key pressure point in the latest pricing surge.

Texas Instruments (TI) signaled urgency around capacity planning, stressing that today's capital spending choices will determine its ability to serve demand years ahead, while downplaying fears that rising memory prices are constraining near-term demand across its core markets.

As the Trump administration intensifies its push for US-based semiconductor manufacturing, Micron recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its planned megafab in the town of Clay, north of Syracuse, New York, braving freezing temperatures to mark the start of the project.

NAND flash prices are soaring, with industry insiders expecting upstream contract prices to surge over 100% in the first quarter of 2026. As NAND manufacturers aggressively upgrade their processes, Samsung Electronics will cease shipments of MLC NAND by the end of the second quarter of 2025, repurposing cleanroom space for DRAM production. Meanwhile, 3D NAND capacity is shifting toward V8 and V9 stacking technologies, leading to a substantial reduction in overall NAND output in 2026.

China has reportedly been conditionally approving corporate purchases of Nvidia's H200, reshaping HBM supply-demand dynamics. According to Seoul Economic Daily and G-enews, Bloomberg reported that Chinese authorities granted conditional approval for major Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Tencent Holdings, and ByteDance to purchase Nvidia's H200. Due to the H200's heavy HBM requirements, this development will also impact Samsung and SK Hynix.

A deepening global memory chip shortage is beginning to raise serious concerns within the automotive industry, as surging demand from artificial intelligence (AI) applications increasingly crowds out supply. With software-defined vehicles (SDVs), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and in-vehicle infotainment becoming mainstream, automakers are now facing mounting risks tied to memory availability, pricing, and product design.

Samsung Electronics' television and home appliance divisions are struggling to secure memory supplies as rising prices prompt the company's semiconductor arm to prioritize higher-margin customers and products, according to South Korean industry outlet Dealsite.

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) computing is fueling a new wave of structural growth in the global printed circuit board (PCB) industry.

Micron has started construction on an advanced wafer fabrication facility at its existing NAND manufacturing complex in Singapore, marking a planned investment of approximately US$24 billion over 10 years. The new facility is expected to provide 700,000 square feet of cleanroom space, with wafer production scheduled to begin in the second half of 2028, aiming to meet growing demand for NAND memory driven by AI and data-intensive applications.

After navigating pandemic tailwinds, US-China conflicts, and tariffs under US President Donald Trump, the global semiconductor and electronics industries are emerging from inventory adjustments and price bottoms starting in 2025. While China's electronics sector has yet to fully recover, AI infrastructure, high-performance computing (HPC), automotive, and industrial control applications are driving a new AI-led pricing cycle across components and semiconductor supply chains.

The ongoing surge in memory chip prices has brought a substantial profit boom for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Although prices are expected to continue trending upward, industry experts caution that this persistent supply shortage could present Chinese memory manufacturers with an opportunity to enter the market and narrow their technology gap.

TSMC's recently announced capex surpassed market expectations by US$6 billion to US$8 billion, driven by factors that analysts had previously overlooked, DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin said in a podcast episode. This development signals structural changes in the semiconductor production landscape and has broader implications for global industry competition and US-Taiwan trade relations.

Samsung Electronics is expected to begin shipping its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, known as HBM4, to Nvidia as early as February, Reuters reported, while South Korea's Hankyung said shipments to both Nvidia and AMD could begin next month.

China's computing power supply chain is starting off 2026 in the dumps. Not only is demand for computing power surging while accelerator card resources remain scarce, but even vendors holding cash and searching for spot supply are unable to secure goods. The market is currently in a state of extreme supply-demand imbalance. Furthermore, Cailian Press has cited sources from channel distributors indicating that distributors in China who originally dealt in graphics cards have now shifted into the memory business under the lure of high profits. As a result, gray industrial chains have emerged, and the problem of "fake memory" has become increasingly more common.

The memory industry is currently facing significant demand shortfalls, bringing renewed attention to the long-developed concept of "compute-in-memory." Leading memory manufacturers are actively investing in related technology development. At the same time, major players are also focusing on startup teams in the market, aiming to secure innovation through strategic investments. Companies like d-Matrix and TetraMem have demonstrated promising growth potential.

Samsung Electronics is reportedly set to raise NAND Flash prices by more than twofold in the first quarter of 2026, amid tightening supply and surging demand driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence applications, according to industry sources.

Memory module giant Adata Technology announced its unaudited consolidated earnings for December 2025, reporting profit before tax of NT$2.55 billion (approx. US$81.22 million), nearly matching the NT$2.56 billion in profit before tax recorded for the entire third quarter of 2025.

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories from the week of January 19-25, 2026.