New York, Jan 19, 2026, 10:53 ET — Market closed.
- Micron revealed it has inked an exclusive letter of intent to buy Powerchip’s P5 fab site in Taiwan, shelling out $1.8 billion in cash.
- The company plans to wrap up the deal by calendar Q2 2026 and kick off major DRAM production at the facility in the second half of 2027.
- Micron’s shares closed last Friday at $362.75, surging about 7.8% during the day.
Micron Technology, Inc. revealed a $1.8 billion plan to buy a chip fab in Taiwan. Investors will get their first real chance to weigh in during the next trading session.
U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so Micron’s shares won’t react until trading picks up again on Tuesday.
The agreement arrives as the memory market remains tight, with demand for dynamic random access memory (DRAM)—the key working memory in servers and PCs—and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used alongside AI processors exceeding supply.
This isn’t about an immediate shift. The company’s capacity plans won’t have a real impact until 2027. Still, the stock is moving on near-term triggers: memory prices, AI server growth, and ongoing supply shortages.
Micron is set to acquire Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s P5 site in Tongluo, Miaoli County. The purchase covers a 300mm fab cleanroom of about 300,000 square feet, plus a long-term partnership for post-wafer assembly work, while continuing to support Powerchip’s existing DRAM lineup. “Demand continues to outpace supply,” said Micron’s operations chief Manish Bhatia, highlighting the Tongluo fab’s proximity to Micron’s Taichung plant as a key factor for “synergies.” The deal aims to close by Q2 2026, subject to regulatory approval, with robust DRAM wafer production expected in H2 2027. (Micron Technology)
Powerchip shares in Taipei surged nearly 10% after the announcement. Research firm TrendForce highlighted that the Tongluo fab will back Micron’s efforts to expand advanced-process DRAM capacity, which could lead to an upward revision of global DRAM supply forecasts for 2027. Micron, ranked among the top three HBM suppliers alongside Samsung and SK Hynix, has a CEO who anticipates memory markets staying tight beyond 2026. (Reuters)
Micron’s stock closed Friday at $362.75, up about 7.8% from Thursday’s finish.
The market backdrop feels uneasy. Tuesday’s open, right after a holiday break, tends to stir up extra noise. Fast money moves swiftly on headlines and options flows, while longer-term investors hang back, weighing the impact of added capacity on this notoriously cyclical sector.
Trading on the Nasdaq resumes Tuesday after the holiday pause, spotlighting Micron as chip investors look for updates on the weekend’s deal moves. (Nasdaq)
Still, the deal underscores a lasting risk in memory markets: cycles can flip quickly. If demand softens right as fresh capacity hits the market, prices could plunge, turning a big capacity boost into a costly misstep.
The next test is simple and fast approaching. On Tuesday, Jan. 20, Micron’s first full U.S. trading day after the long weekend, investors will weigh whether the $1.8 billion Taiwan investment is smart capacity insurance or the start of fresh supply troubles.
