Winbond gains ground in Nvidia's Rubin supply chain as memory prices surge
Taiwanese memory maker Winbond is riding a severe chip shortage into record profits, good news for its shareholders but a warning sign for anyone buying phones or electronics.
- Memory is in short supply because AI servers are eating up factory capacity, and DRAM prices are expected to jump again this quarter.
- Winbond's NOR Flash chips got into Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin server racks, where they could win half the market.
- August revenue hit a record and is up sharply from a year ago; analysts rate the stock a buy with price targets of NT$200 to NT$220.
- Samsung and SK Hynix are down to less than ten days of memory inventory, and next year could be the tightest supply on record.
- The squeeze is pushing up phone prices, with handset shipments expected to fall about 15% this year.
Outlook: Chip shortages and rising prices look set to run through next year, keeping memory makers' profits climbing while consumer gadgets get more expensive.