Micron has signed 16 strategic contracts with customers that could keep memory prices at very high levels until 2030. These are long-term agreements that guarantee customers access to DRAM and NAND memory, but with defined quantities and price ranges. Micron stated in its official financial materials that these contracts typically last five years, from 2026 to the end of 2030, while some automotive contracts last three years. In practice, this means that large customers agree to stable supply, but also to prices that bring Micron exceptionally high margins.
The reason is simple: demand for memory has exploded due to artificial intelligence, data centers, new PCs, mobile devices, and the automotive industry. Micron expects that the supply situation will gradually improve only by 2028, but emphasizes that there is currently no clear estimate of when production will catch up with demand. This is not good news for the gaming market as more expensive DRAM and NAND could affect the prices of SSDs, RAM, graphics cards, pre-built computers, laptops, and even future consoles. In other words, hardware could remain significantly more expensive in the next few years than gamers had hoped.
