Who are the six global stars of memory chips?
SNDK
With the rise of artificial intelligence, the industry hierarchy is shifting. The latest generation of memory chips and the growing requirements of AI have placed Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, Seagate, SanDisk and Western Digital at the center of the stage.
Esteban Tesson
Published on 04/22/2026 at 02:45 pm EDT
During the initial phase of the AI tidal wave on the stock market, value creation was concentrated on logic chip designers, led by Nvidia, and major platforms. However, as applications have proliferated, the bottleneck has shifted towards memory and storage, which are essential for powering and running increasingly data-hungry models.As a result, the entire semiconductor supply chain is rebalancing in favor of less visible but now critical players, whether American (Micron, Western Digital, Seagate, SanDisk) or South Korean (Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix). This shift explains their stockmarket momentum relative to historical stars: without memory, there is no AI, and therefore no growth.SanDisk (+280% in 2026): The frenzy surrounding High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips has propelled this flash memory specialist into a new dimension. Currently, SanDisk is benefiting from strong demand for its NAND flash solutions, as well as significant speculation regarding its HBF technology—a high-bandwidth memory chip integrating flash memory. This innovation could serve as an alternative, or even a direct competitor, to the HBM chips from currently popular players. Financially, the explosion in demand for data center storage solutions has elevated SanDisk into a different category. In just a few months, the company has seen its market capitalization increase tenfold and its year-over-year EBITDA margin quintuple, while doubling its revenue. Such performance has strongly supported the stock, notably thanks to newly acquired pricing power resulting from sustained demand. As a reminder, Western Digital announced its spin-off of SanDisk on February 24, 2025. SanDisk, acquired for $19bn in 2015, now operates entirely independently.Western Digital (+122% in 2026): When comparing Western Digital to Seagate and SanDisk, the group sits at a midpoint, maintaining a presence in both NAND flash storage solutions and hard disk drives (HDD). It is therefore among the players particularly well-positioned to meet the growing needs generated by the AI boom and massive investments in data centers. Financially, Western Digital has significantly improved its EBITDA margin, rising from approximately 8% in 2024 to over 29% the following year, with a forecast around 37% for 2026. Added to this is a sharp upward revision of EPS forecasts for 2026, 2027, and 2028, which have tripled in one year, suggesting a particularly robust order book as long as memory remains a bottleneck.Seagate Technology (+103% in 2026): As previously mentioned, developments in artificial intelligence require ever-increasing storage capacities. This demand is not limited to the latest flash memories but also concerns HDD solutions, which are older and slower but offer higher capacities. Seagate is positioned as a leader in this field, which has allowed its market capitalization to nearly decuple since the low of April 5, 2025. With the development of its Mosaic+ range, Seagate intends to fully capitalize on this strong storage demand and increased pricing power, thereby reinforcing its status as a key player in this trend.SK Hynix (+88% in 2026): The South Korean company is a vital link in the semiconductor supply chain. It has notably established itself as Nvidia's preferred supplier for HBM chips intended for its GPUs. The main difference with Samsung lies in its positioning: SK Hynix is a pure player in the design and manufacture of memory chips. The group is therefore entirely exposed to the dynamics of the memory market. Several analysts estimate that the current shortage could last until at least 2028, placing SK Hynix in a particularly favorable position.Samsung Electronics (+82% in 2026): After missing the turn for the previous generation, the Korean company focused on the fourth generation of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips. This bet paid off: it now offers the most powerful HBM4 chips on the market, allowing it to regain market share from its competitors. Samsung also benefits from strong business diversification, with several divisions profiting from the AI boom, notably its foundry and smartphones, which leverage excellent AI integration. The main drawback for Samsung (as for SK Hynix) remains its listing in South Korea, making direct investment difficult for foreign investors. Exposure to its growth must therefore be sought through ETFs.Micron Technology (+57% in 2026): The American memory chip specialist has transitioned from a neglected stock to an essential player in the AI supply chain in a very short time. The explosion in RAM demand is such that all industry players are benefiting. As the only major American player, Micron has established itself as a must-have stock, especially since its South Korean competitors are less accessible. The company also boasts solid credentials: it recently retired its Crucial consumer brand to focus exclusively on semiconductors dedicated to artificial intelligence. This strategy is paying off, as the group shows a 573% increase over one year and an impressive gross margin of 81%.