Micron and Western Digital Climb 8%, SanDisk Rises 6% on Iran Truce - 24/7 Wall St.

Following news of a U.S.-Iran peace agreement, global equities saw a risk-on sentiment surge, driving significant gains in memory and storage stocks. Micron Technology (MU) rose 8% to around $1,060, w... Read original →

The U.S.-Iran détente merely provided a catalyst; the real engine behind memory stocks’ surge is AI data centers’ insatiable demand for DRAM and NAND. Technologically, HBM3E adoption and CXL-based memory pooling are forcing sub-1βnm DRAM nodes, while 300+ layer NAND faces yield cliffs—making Micron’s and SanDisk’s output strategically scarce. Despite eased tensions, U.S. export controls on advanced memory to sensitive regions remain stringent, imposing licensing overhead and supply chain redundancy costs. Samsung and SK Hynix will likely accelerate HBM4 development and compete fiercely for CoWoS capacity, while Western Digital doubles down on high-density SMR HDDs for AI cold storage. Over the next 18 months, AI cluster expansion will sustain tight supply—but if server capex growth decelerates, today’s frothy valuations, especially amid diverging retail sentiment, risk sharp correction.