Looking to early next year, contract prices are projected to rise significantly due to low inventory and strong supplier leverage, with spot prices remaining high. While CXMT's capacity expansion moderates, its global share and revenue are expected to outperform the industry average through process upgrades and an optimized product mix.
Server DRAM contract prices surge in 2025 due to tight supply and low inventory. Cloud firms and OEMs accept price hikes, while suppliers accelerate capacity expansion to meet rising 2026 demand; further supply-demand changes warrant monitoring.
PC DRAM contract prices surged in 4Q25 due to tight supply and OEM restocking. DDR4 and DDR5 module prices keep rising, driving up PC prices and potentially dampening sales.
Surging server DRAM demand drives price hikes, consumer DRAM up over 20%. Rising costs pressure brands, 2026 shipments may drop.
Soaring memory prices increase system costs and retail prices, hurting the consumer market. TrendForce thus lowered 2026 shipment forecasts for smartphones, notebooks, and game consoles. Game console makers may abandon price cuts due to costs, shifting to high-price, profit-preserving strategies.
In 3Q25, the smartphone industry benefited from the traditional peak season and the launch of new device models. Smartphone production registered both QoQ and YoY growth. However, moving into 4Q25, the sharp increase in memory costs is expected to significantly impact the profitability of low-end smartphone brands, potentially causing these brands to make downward revisions in their quarterly production volumes. Additionally, the trend of increasing differentiation between the high-end and low-end segments continues. Therefore, the successful implementation of AI features and effective cost control measures will be critical for competitive advantage.
The report shows AI-driven demand reshaping the server market, with cloud and enterprise deployments accelerating, core focus on GB rack solutions and all-in-one enclosures, and partnerships to strengthen supercomputing and data-center ecosystems, with growth momentum expected to persist.
Revenue of mobile DRAM was driven by the increase of contract prices in 3Q25, and accomplished a QoQ growth of nearly 30% in market value. Revenue is looking to continue ascending in 4Q25 after another significant hike of contract prices. With that said, suppliers may shift their resources to product lines of higher profitability or better strategic positions under constraints of capacity, which would further tighten the supply of mobile DRAM and subside the scale of delivery, thus generating negative interferences to the market value of mobile DRAM.
Global Server Market – Trends in 4Q25 and Outlook for 2026
TrendForce shows AI-driven DRAM demand surge, creating supply tension. Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron plan to expand DRAM production through 2026.