Morgan Stanley’s Joseph Moore said that, after speaking with several purchasing contacts in the data center space last week, the intensity of the memory shortages shows no signs of abating. He added that prices appear to be up at least 25% on a like-for-like basis from 2Q to 3Q. This is above both Morgan Stanley’s and third-party estimates. Moore also noted that longer-term concerns that the memory shortage will intensify in 2027 and again in 2028 remain as strong as ever. Morgan Stanley added that there is not enough memory relative to AI requirements and that it does not see this situation changing. Notable quotes: “Cloud customers are paying premiums to the expected 2Q price for six-week expedites; do we think those customers are paying those premia to stockpile memory in a warehouse?” “AI is consuming so much DRAM that there isn’t enough left over for other sectors, and everywhere we look, we see indications that it is a true bottleneck. It’s holding back PC builds and smartphone builds.” “Memory is not just constrained by AI demand—memory is increasingly one of the major primary constraints on AI demand, along with space and power.” $MU $SKHY $SNDK