Cathie Wood Is Bullish on Memory Chips; BofA Says Conditions for Buying the Dip in Risk Assets Are Not Met

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"Wood" is bullish on memory chips; BofA warns it is not yet time to buy the dip in risk assets

BlockBeats reports,October 19，ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood recently said that memory chips have entered a buying range, believing that the impact of rapidly rising memory prices and declining electronics sales has been partially priced into share prices. In contrast, Michael Hartnett, Chief Investment Strategist at BofA Global Research, noted that the end of a market sell signal does not mean the time to buy has arrived, and neither of the prerequisites for returning to risk assets is currently met.

Memory-chip price increases are mainly driven by AI server demand crowding out capacity, with manufacturers shifting more capacity to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DDR5, tightening consumer memory supply. TrendForce data show that 2026 first- and second-quarter DRAM contract prices rose quarter-on-quarter by 90%—95%and 58%—63%，NAND Flash contract prices rose by 55%—60%and 70%—75%.

Soaring memory costs have also begun to affect the consumer-electronics supply chain. Citing IDC data, the report said that global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2026 declined year-on-year by 22%to 255300000 units. Memory manufacturers are benefiting from price increases, while end-device brands face the dual challenge of rising costs and pressure on sales.

Key areas to watch include whether DRAM/NAND contract-price gains continue to narrow, whether declines in mobile-phone and PC shipments can improve, whether memory's share of end-device bill-of-materials costs has peaked, and whether memory manufacturers reallocate capacity to consumer products.

Original link https://m.theblockbeats.info/flash/372550

Key points

October 19, BlockBeats reported that ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood said memory chips have entered a buying range.
Cathie Wood believes that the effects of rapidly rising memory prices and declining electronics sales have been partially priced into share prices.
Michael Hartnett, Chief Investment Strategist at BofA Global Research, said that the end of a market sell signal does not mean the time to buy has arrived, and neither of the prerequisites for returning to risk assets is currently met.
The report said manufacturers are shifting more capacity to high-bandwidth memory and server DDR5, thereby tightening consumer memory supply.
TrendForce data show that 2026 first- and second-quarter DRAM contract prices rose quarter-on-quarter by 90%—95%and 58%—63%，NAND Flash contract prices rose by 55%—60%and 70%—75%。
Citing IDC data, the report said that global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2026 declined year-on-year by 22%to 255300000 units.
The report said memory manufacturers are benefiting from price increases, while end-device brands face rising costs and pressure on sales.

AI-assisted interpretation

The following is analysis, separate from reported facts. Verify important claims independently.

The market participants reached different conclusions: Cathie Wood believes memory-chip prices have already partially absorbed industry pressures and may be worth buying; Michael Hartnett, however, believes that the conditions needed for risk assets to again offer suitable entry points are not yet in place. The report also said that server-related memory occupies more capacity, tightening consumer memory supply and raising prices while creating cost pressure for end-device brands.

Why it matters to readers

The report presents the potentially different circumstances facing memory manufacturers and consumer-electronics end-device brands, and also shows that market participants disagree over whether it is currently appropriate to buy risk assets.

Beginners should distinguish between industry data and investment views: contract prices and shipment volumes are data cited in the report, while “entered a buying range” and “not yet time to buy” are the judgments of the relevant individuals, not certain outcomes.

Risks and unknowns

The original TrendForce and IDC reports were not provided as evidence, and the relevant data still require verification.
The prerequisites for returning to risk assets cited by Michael Hartnett were not specifically explained.
The report does not list specific memory-chip companies, end-device brands, or their market performance.
How memory prices, end-device shipment volumes, and capacity allocation will evolve remains uncertain.

Cathie Wood Is Bullish on Memory Chips; BofA Says Conditions for Buying the Dip in Risk Assets Are Not Met

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