Bank of America's memory indicator reached 183 in May, well above past peaks, with global DRAM revenue projected to increase by 325% YoY to $568.8 billion in 2026, and NAND revenue by 299% YoY to $323.1 billion. Servers and AI systems now account for over 50% of total global DRAM demand, while enterprise SSDs for AI comprise over 50% of NAND demand, commanding a price premium. HBM and advanced data center memory are expected to command 35% to 40% of total cloud AI infrastructure spending, with HBM TAM projected to hit $76.8 billion in 2026E and $134.6 billion by 2027E at 49% operating profit margins.
Memory suppliers are prioritizing high-margin HBM, cannibalizing standard DRAM production and driving a structural shortage in legacy DDR4 as the DDR5 premium vanishes.