New York, Jan 12, 2026, 09:35 EST — Regular session
- Micron shares rose 5.5% in early trade, extending a strong start to 2026.
- Taiwan media reported memory-chip testing and packaging firms have lifted prices by up to 30%.
- Investors are watching Tuesday’s U.S. inflation data and Micron’s shareholder meeting later this week.
Micron Technology (MU) shares rose 5.5% to $345.09 in early New York trading on Monday after a Taiwanese media report said memory-chip testing and packaging firms have started lifting prices by up to 30%. (UDN)
The timing matters. Packaging and testing sit at the back end of the supply chain, and tight capacity there can slow shipments even if chipmakers push wafer output higher. For Micron, any sign of a bottleneck tends to pull attention back to pricing power.
The work is known as OSAT — outsourced semiconductor assembly and test — and it has become a pressure point for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, the stacked DRAM used alongside AI processors. DRAM is the “working” memory inside servers and PCs; NAND is the flash storage used in solid-state drives and phones.
TrendForce News, citing Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, said Micron partner Powertech Technology led recent price increases as utilization at contractors ran close to full. It said Micron’s recent mix shifts have pushed more higher-end products, including DDR5 (a newer generation of DRAM) and mobile graphics memory, into outside testing and packaging lines. (TrendForce)
Micron last month reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $13.64 billion and issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $18.7 billion, plus or minus $400 million. Chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said the company delivered “record revenue” in the quarter, and Micron declared a quarterly dividend of 11.5 cents a share payable on Jan. 14. (Micron Technology)
The move in Micron also landed in a jittery tape. Investors are looking to Tuesday’s U.S. consumer price inflation report for clues on the rate path, a key input for high-growth tech valuations. (Reuters)
A filing shows Micron’s annual shareholder meeting will be held virtually on Jan. 15 at 10:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Micron has also scheduled a Jan. 16 groundbreaking in upstate New York for its planned megafab; Mehrotra called it a “pivotal moment for Micron and the United States.” (SEC)
Rivals Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix remain the other big DRAM suppliers, and the same supply-chain pinch points can echo across the sector when makers steer capacity toward higher-value products tied to AI servers.
But the setup cuts both ways. Higher OSAT prices can flow through as higher costs, and the memory business can turn quickly if customers pause orders, or if new capacity comes online faster than demand.
The next near-term catalysts are Tuesday’s U.S. inflation print and Micron’s annual meeting on Jan. 15.
