Apple raised prices on nearly its entire hardware lineup on Thursday, triggering a 6% drop in its stock as a global memory chip shortage bit hard into the company's margins. The price increases affected Macs, iPads, HomePods, Apple TV, and even the Vision Pro headset, with jumps ranging from $100 to $300 on popular models and a staggering $1,300 surge for the Mac Studio. CEO Tim Cook described the situation as a "hundred-year flood" and warned that the company had been absorbing cost increases as long as possible before passing them to consumers.
The root cause is an explosion in demand for DRAM and NAND flash memory, driven by the AI boom and massive data center construction. Contract DRAM prices reportedly spiked nearly 90% in Q1 2026 and another 60% or more in Q2, according to TrendForce. NAND flash has followed a similar trajectory, leaving key components roughly four times more expensive than just three quarters ago. Apple’s iPhone—accounting for about half of company revenue—was not yet repriced, but analysts estimate the memory crunch could add around $200 in component costs per device, making a future price increase likely.
The pain was underscored by Micron’s record quarter the same day: the memory maker posted an 84.9% gross margin and added over $100 billion in market value. Micron has locked in floor prices with 16 strategic customer agreements spanning 2026 to 2030, guaranteeing high margins and signaling that supply constraints will persist. The company’s CEO noted that new fab capacity offers little near-term relief, as complex memory takes longer to produce and AI-related demand continues to outpace supply growth. Apple’s shares closed at around $274.30, erasing nearly $200 billion in market cap in a single session, and the stock now hovers at a key technical zone with earnings pressure expected to mount.
