China Is Coming For Micron's Thick Margins - Yahoo Finance

The AI-driven memory supercycle has created a lucrative environment for DRAM manufacturers like Micron, but Chinese firms such as CXMT are rapidly closing in. Despite starting volume production only i... Read original →

CXMT’s rapid DRAM capacity expansion is pressuring global cost structures, yet its exclusion from ASML’s EUV tools forces reliance on multi-patterning DUV for sub-1αnm nodes—yielding 15–20% lower efficiency than Samsung or SK Hynix. This technical gap confines CXMT to mid-tier DDR5 and mature-node markets, amplifying price volatility in commodity DRAM. While U.S. export controls temporarily shield Micron’s margins, they accelerate China’s domestic equipment push, with AMEC and SMEE emerging as critical nodes in an alternative supply chain. Over the next 12–24 months, if CXMT leverages 3D stacking or chiplet integration to bypass lithography limits, it could carve a niche in edge-AI memory. Meanwhile, Apple’s cost-driven sourcing may catalyze a 'Micron-divestment' trend among OEMs, triggering structural realignment across the memory ecosystem.