Memory chip makers, including major memory chip makers, are set to report operating losses in the fourth quarter of 2022, with their losses set to widen in the first quarter of 2023 as chip prices continue to fall, Digitimes reported.

Micron Technology fell into the red in its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 1, 2022, and has warned of a bigger loss in the following second quarter of fiscal 2023.

Other memory chip makers are also expected to post losses in the fourth quarter of 2022, the sources said. Samsung Electronics also struggled to keep its chip business profitable in the current quarter, the sources said.

Nevertheless, the sources noted that mainstream 8Gb DDR4 prices were flat in December, which may indicate that chip suppliers intend to stop prices from falling further. Average DDR4 contract prices remained in the high single digits this month.

Average server memory contract prices slipped about 5 percent in December due to high inventory held by OEMs, the sources said. Prices will remain under pressure in the first quarter of 2023, the sources said. And suppliers such as Meta and Google have put data center expansion plans on hold, leaving uncertainty about the growth prospects for the server memory market in 2023.

source：aijiwei