Financial
• The surge in mobile DRAM prices has continued to rise in Q2 2026, placing huge pressure on smartphone and personal computer production. Once major manufacturers have completed their pricing adjustment schedule, TrendForce has forecast that the ASP of LPDDR4 memory solutions will have jumped by at least 70%, while the ASP of LPDDR5 will see a QoQ surge of at least 78%.
• Persistently elevated DRAM prices are forcing smartphone manufacturers to adjust memory configuration across product tiers with 12 GB becoming the mainstream configuration in the high-end segment. The average smartphone DRAM capacity is still projected to increase to 8,5 GB in 2026, representing an annual growth of around 10%.
• The surging demand for AI power ICs has set the stage for foundry price increases. The average 8-inch capacity utilisation rate among the world’s top 10 foundries is forecast to approach 90% in 2026, and remain above 80% through H1 2027. TSMC’s planned reduction in 12-inch mature-node capacity may further drive order redistribution with Tier 2 foundries picking up the slack and subsequently raising prices.
• Silicon Labs released its Q1 results with thewireless IoT company delivering $214 million in revenue, up 20% YoY. This increase was comprised of $128 million (33% YoY) for Industrial & Commercial, and $86 million (5% YoY) for Home & Life, which included a 21% increase in medical end applications. Despite the improved figures, this amounted to an operating loss of $17 million.
• The US-Iran conflict has pushed up oil and natural gas prices, driving higher energy and transportation costs. Consumer price indexes across major economies rose in March with inflation expected to weigh heavily on end-market demand. These effects are gradually feeding through to the electronic components supply chain, and rising prices for key metals such as silver, aluminium, and copper have led to average price increases of 10-15% for passive components, including ferrite beads, inductors, and resistors.
• Mycronic released its interim Q1 financial report stating an order intake of SEK2529 million, an increase of 23%. Net sales increased 17% to SEK2503 million.
Companies
• Links Field Networks has announced that Jarrod Hutton joined the technical sales team bringing a wealth of technical expertise, creativity, and passion for innovation. The company is confident that this new addition will deliver even greater value to its clients.
Technologies
• Global shipment volume of optical transceivers is projected to more than triple from 26,5 million units in 2023 to over 92 million units by 2026. This massive market opportunity is driving a restructuring of the global optical communications supply chain. However, Chinese suppliers have long held a dominant position in the global optical communications market with companies like Innolight and Eoptolink maintaining strong cost competitiveness that is difficult to challenge in high-volume segments such as Ethernet transceivers and FTTx.
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