New York, Jan 18, 2026, 18:05 (EST) — The market has closed.
- Micron agreed to acquire PSMC’s Tongluo (Taiwan) P5 fab site, paying $1.8 billion in cash under a signed LOI.
- Shares jumped 7.8% on Friday, pushing memory-chip stocks higher for another session.
- Investors are focused on the timeline, approvals, and the pace at which new DRAM supply will hit the market.
Micron Technology, Inc. grabbed attention heading into Tuesday’s U.S. market open after announcing a $1.8 billion cash purchase of a Taiwan chipmaking facility. Its shares jumped 7.8% on Friday before markets shut for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday.
The planned acquisition is significant, as it could boost DRAM capacity — the memory widely used in servers and PCs — more quickly than constructing a new facility. This comes on the heels of a sharp stock rally, driven by investors betting heavily on AI-fueled demand.
There’s little margin for unexpected moves now. New data on memory supply and pricing—or how fast fresh capacity translates into shipments—could shift sentiment in this sector in a heartbeat.
Micron announced it will shell out $1.8 billion in cash to acquire Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s P5 facility in Tongluo, Miaoli County, targeting a deal close by Q2 2026, pending final agreements and regulatory clearance. The 300-millimeter fab boasts a 300,000-square-foot cleanroom. Both companies plan to collaborate long-term on post-wafer assembly processing — packaging steps following wafer chip production — and on PSMC’s existing DRAM lines. “This strategic acquisition … will enable Micron to increase production and better serve our customers,” said Manish Bhatia, executive VP of global operations. (Micron Technology)
Friday’s session saw a notable insider buy. Micron director Teyin M. Liu picked up 23,200 shares in open-market trades on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, paying an average price near $337, a regulatory filing revealed. After these purchases, Liu held 25,910 shares directly, according to the Form 4. (Securities and Exchange Commission)
Micron kicked off construction Friday on its $100 billion memory complex in Clay, New York. The site will host up to four fabrication plants, with production slated to begin in 2030, the company announced. This marks part of a roughly $200 billion U.S. expansion spanning Idaho, Virginia, and cutting-edge HBM packaging — the high-bandwidth memory crucial for AI processors. Micron aims to manufacture 40% of its DRAM domestically. “As AI transforms every industry, advanced memory has become essential,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement backing the initiative. (Micron Technology)
Micron surged Friday amid a wider rally in chip stocks fueled by AI demand. Memory players like Seagate Technology and SanDisk also climbed, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF added 2.1%. U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Kitco)
Micron closed Friday at $362.75, climbing 7.76%. Shares swung between $346.65 and $365.59, with roughly 47.9 million changing hands. This jump pushed Micron’s market cap to around $408 billion, keeping the stock close to its 52-week peak.
Memory remains a boom-and-bust game. If AI spending tapers off or an oversupply of DRAM and NAND floods the market, prices can dive quickly. What looked like a growth opportunity can quickly turn into a margin headache.
On Tuesday, all eyes will be on whether Micron’s rally can sustain itself as markets reopen and how the Taiwan deal is interpreted—either as a safeguard for capacity or the kickoff of more supply. With U.S. markets closed Monday, the Nasdaq’s reopening on Jan. 20 is the next major catalyst to watch.
