Micron CEO says the company can supply only 50% to 66% of customer demand for AI memory, with production sold out through much of 2026

CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated that Micron can currently satisfy only about 50% to 66% of customer demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the specialized memory used alongside AI accelerators. The company has sold out its HBM production through much of 2026 and plans to add new capacity every quarter.

HBM pricing runs several times higher per bit than conventional DRAM, allowing Micron to shift from commodity memory into premium AI infrastructure. Micron's second-quarter earnings showed data center revenue more than tripled year over year, with gross margins expanding 54 percentage points as the richer AI product mix replaced lower-margin commodity memory sales.

If Micron prioritizes HBM production due to higher margins, less manufacturing capacity remains for conventional DRAM used in PCs, smartphones, and consumer electronics, potentially creating memory supply tightness across the entire tech industry similar to past semiconductor shortages.

Micron stock has surged 163% year to date to $751.