Micron shares rise as White House pushes Apple away from Chinese memory chips

Micron Technology shares surged 2.6% ahead of Monday's market opening as the Trump administration put pressure on Apple not to source memory chips from Chinese manufacturers. The Commerce Department's block on Apple using DRAM from Chinese firm ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) would force the iPhone maker to rely more on American and allied suppliers, with Micron being the leading U.S. producer of memory chips.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated clearly that the administration does not approve of Apple using Chinese memory products to solve the supply shortage, insisting that the issue needs to be addressed differently. This move followed renewed political pressure on Apple from lawmakers, who expressed concern over the company's potential use of Chinese memory technology.

Apple had been testing DRAM products from CXMT, along with NAND chips from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), primarily for devices intended for the Chinese market. However, Apple's options are becoming increasingly limited, as CXMT is on the Pentagon's blacklist of Chinese military companies and has rejected Apple's discounted pricing request.

The memory market is currently facing significant supply pressure, with DRAM prices rising by about 29% in 2026 due to high demand for AI data center applications. Micron, which aims for a 40% share of domestic U.S. DRAM production and has invested over $250 billion in American manufacturing through 2035, has actively lobbied against Apple using CXMT memory.

The administration's intervention in the matter comes amid optimism about the long-term outlook for memory demand, driven by AI infrastructure growth. Micron's stock also benefited from the upward trend in AI-related memory demand and tighter global supply conditions.