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market · Micron Technology, "Micron Technology, Inc. Reports Record Fiscal Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2026 Results" · 4 min read

Pricier MacBooks and Micron's best year come from the same memory shortage

Morning Byte · by Keith Andrade

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Apple's glass cube store on Fifth Avenue, graded blue: Apple's logo hangs high inside the glass, above a crowd of shoppers in winter coats walking and standing in line on the plaza. At the right, a tall portrait panel in a thin cream frame shows the head and shoulders of a smiling person with short grey hair and a grey beard, in a dark jacket over a collared shirt, toned in navy and cream against a dark navy background. At the left, in large white type with a dark glow around the letters: AI's memory shortage raised what you pay for a MacBook. Below it, in dark letters on bright cyan bars: It gave Micron its best year. Under that, small white capitals read MICRON CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE. At the lower left, small credit lines read PHOTOGRAPH: JORGE LÁSCAR, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY 2.0 and PORTRAIT: MICRON TECHNOLOGY.
Photograph: Jorge Láscar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, Apple's Fifth Avenue store, graded blue. Portrait: Micron Technology, cut out, toned navy and cream, on a navy backdrop.

The three takeaways

01

Memory maker Micron's sales last quarter were nearly five times a year earlier.

02

Since June, a 512GB MacBook Air laptop from Apple costs $1,299, up from $1,099.

03

Micron expects buyers to pay about $61.5 billion next quarter, more than analysts expected.

Sources

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Who's involved

Micron
An American company that makes memory chips, the parts that hold data inside computers and phones.
It reported record sales on September 30 and expects even more next quarter.
Sanjay Mehrotra
Micron's chairman and chief executive.
Mehrotra runs Micron and told investors to expect "an even stronger fiscal 2027."
Apple
The company that makes the iPhone, iPad and Mac.
In June it raised prices on some MacBooks and iPads by up to $300, blaming memory costs.
Nvidia
A company that makes the chips AI data centers run on.
Its AI chips need high-bandwidth memory, and Micron says it is working with Nvidia on a custom version.

What changed

If you have priced a MacBook or iPad since June, you have met this story at the checkout. The memory shortage behind Apple's higher prices just gave Micron, an American maker of memory chips, its best year. Is that shortage over? Not by Micron's numbers. Its sales for the three months that ended September 3 were $54.23 billion, nearly five times the $11.32 billion of a year earlier. Micron expects about $61.5 billion next quarter.

On June 25, Apple, the company behind the iPhone, iPad and Mac, raised prices on some MacBooks and iPads by up to $300. A 512GB MacBook Air went to $1,299 from $1,099. An iPad Air with 128GB went to $749 from $599.

Apple said why in plain words: "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly." The components are memory and storage chips. AI data centers need huge amounts of them, and the AI chips inside those data centers, from companies like Nvidia, need a stacked kind called high-bandwidth memory. The world's leading makers cannot build enough of it.

What's at Stake

$54.23 billion

Micron's sales for the three months that ended September 3, nearly five times a year earlier.

What Micron's customers paid it in three months, as AI demand outran memory supply.Source: Micron Technology, results release, September 30, 2026 · Revenue for Micron's fiscal fourth quarter, against $11.32 billion for the same quarter a year earlier.

Market intelligence

Oct 1 · closed5 years1 yearPast monthTodayLevelMicron+1445.8%+484.2%+3.0%$1,097Apple+131.6%+28.0%−0.8%$330Nvidia+1013.0%+23.0%+1.1%$231Nasdaq+84.5%+18.0%0.0%26,872

The read: Over five years, Micron is up 1445.8%, Apple is up 131.6% and Nvidia is up 1013.0%. Over one year, Micron is up 484.2%, Apple is up 28.0% and Nvidia is up 23.0%. Over the past month, Micron is up, Apple is up and Nvidia is up. Micron is up 3.0%, Apple is down 0.8% and Nvidia is up 1.1% today, while the Nasdaq is flat.

Sanjay Mehrotra doesn't trade on a stock market.

Prices move for many reasons. This shows where they stand, not what caused it.

Prices: Yahoo Finance.

Then and Now

Before June 25AfterCheapest iPad$349$449iPad mini$499$599MacBook Neo$599$699iPad Air 128GB$599$749MacBook Air 512GB$1,099$1,299MacBook Pro 1TB$1,699$1,999
What Apple charged before and after its June 25 price rise, which it blamed on memory and storage chip costs.Source: CNN and CBS News, June 25, 2026 · CNN lists the cheapest iPad, the iPad mini and the MacBook Neo. CBS News lists the iPad Air, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro configurations, citing The Verge. The iPad mini's old price is its new $599 less the $100 increase CNN reports.

How We Got Here

  1. Micron's spring quarter ends

    Sales for the three months reach $41.46 billion.

  2. Apple raises prices

    Some MacBooks and iPads go up by as much as $300, and Apple blames memory and storage chip costs.

  3. Micron's summer quarter ends

    Sales for the three months reach $54.23 billion, nearly five times a year earlier.

  4. Micron reports

    It reports record results and forecasts about $61.5 billion for the next quarter.

Memory sales kept climbing while the price of a MacBook went up.Source: Micron Technology, September 30, 2026; CNN and CBS News, June 25, 2026

The System Underneath

AI data centers want more memory than makers can build, which pushes up memory prices, which costs you more for a MacBook and hands Micron a record quarter.

The People

Sanjay Mehrotra, smiling, with short grey hair and a grey beard, in a dark blue textured jacket over a lilac patterned shirt, against a black background.
Sanjay MehrotraMicron's chairman and chief executiveRuns the company that makes and sells the memoryPhotograph: Micron Technology
  1. AI data centersApple says the growing number of AI data centers created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage.
  2. want
    More memory than makers can buildAI chips from companies like Nvidia need a stacked kind of memory, and the leading makers cannot build enough.
  3. which pushes up
    Memory pricesApple says it has never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.
  4. which costs
    You more for a MacBookIn June, Apple raised some MacBook and iPad prices by up to $300.

One shortage, two results: a record year for Micron, and higher prices on everyday tech like laptops.

How AI's hunger for memory reaches a MacBook's price tag.Source: Apple's statement as reported by CNN and CBS News, June 25, 2026; Micron Technology and CNBC, September 30, 2026 · Each link is one the sources state. No source says how much of any single price rise came from memory.

Why it matters

For Micron, the shortage shows up as profit. Last quarter it kept about 87 cents of each sales dollar after the cost of making its chips, up from less than half a year earlier. Its profit for the quarter was $37.7 billion, against $3.2 billion a year before.

The biggest jump came from data centers. Micron's Core Data Center unit sold about eleven times as much in the quarter as a year earlier. Investors have noticed: Micron's stock market value has topped $1.2 trillion.

That matters if you are shopping for a laptop or tablet. Apple said it had shielded customers from these increases so far, but had reached a point where it needed to raise prices on several products. Memory now sets part of what you pay, and Micron's own forecast says demand is still climbing.

Who's Accountable

Sanjay Mehrotra, smiling, with short grey hair and a grey beard, in a dark blue textured jacket over a lilac patterned shirt, against a black background.
Sanjay MehrotraChairman and chief executive, Micron Technology

Mehrotra runs Micron, which just had its best year. Micron expects an even stronger fiscal 2027.

Photograph: Micron Technology
The executive answering for Micron's forecast.Source: Micron Technology, September 30, 2026, for the results and the forecast; Micron's leadership page for the portrait

What to watch

So when does it ease? Not next quarter, if Micron's own forecast holds. That forecast beats the $57 billion analysts had expected. Its chairman and chief executive, Sanjay Mehrotra, said the company expects "an even stronger fiscal 2027."

New supply is the thing to watch. Micron is investing $250 billion to build two campuses that make high-bandwidth memory, and its first new factory in Boise, Idaho, is scheduled to come online next year. Its rivals in South Korea are building new factories too.

Until then, buyers are paying ahead. Micron's cash flow statement shows $12.7 billion in customer deposits in its latest year, up from none the year before. That is a shortage seen from the seller's side.

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