Micron beats Nvidia as the 2027 pick, but Nvidia wins long term

Both companies sit at the center of the AI build-out, but their paths diverge because of where they sit in the supply chain. Micron makes the DRAM memory chips that go inside Nvidia's GPUs and other competitors' products, so it sells to Nvidia and to Nvidia's rivals alike. Nvidia, by contrast, buys those memory chips. Nvidia forecasts that the big five AI hyperscalers will spend nearly $800 billion on data center capital expenditures during 2026, rising to a projected $1.3 trillion next year — spending that flows to Nvidia's GPUs and, through them, to Micron's memory.

The timing difference comes from the memory chip market's current supply shortage. Demand outpaces supply, pushing prices up and letting Micron profit on higher prices. Micron is building more production facilities, likely to come online in mid-2027 and throughout 2028, and its management has told investors not to expect the tightness to subside until 2028. That constraint, the article argues, keeps Micron in the driver's seat through 2027.

Once supply catches up, the dynamic could shift. Nvidia's demand for GPUs is expected to remain high, while Micron's pricing advantage may fade. The article's reading is that the 2027 picture and the three-to-five-year picture point to different winners, so the right choice depends on an investor's time horizon.