Gate Research: Market Cap of the Big Three Storage Giants Surpasses $1 Trillion Collectively

Summary

• The global storage track's total market cap is experiencing explosive growth. The three giants, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, have all surpassed a trillion-dollar market cap.
• The continuous growth in demand for large AI model training and inference is significantly increasing data centers' demand intensity and value for storage products like high-bandwidth memory HBM, DDR5, and enterprise SSDs.
• Micron Technology has recently officially entered the trillion-dollar market cap club, becoming one of the most watched assets for revaluation in the AI storage industry chain. According to StockAnalysis data, as of June 3, 2026, Micron's market cap was approximately $1.17 trillion.
• The core driver of this rally in the storage track isn't a traditional DRAM cycle rebound. Instead, the market is beginning to reprice the structural value within AI servers, high-bandwidth memory HBM, long-term agreements (LTAs), and the tight supply-demand dynamics of the storage industry.
• Gate has officially launched stock trading, allowing users to directly trade stocks, ETFs, and other assets from major securities markets on the platform using USDT. The stock contract zone has launched perpetual contracts, supporting USDT settlement and 1-20x leverage for two-way trading. Gate has also introduced Leveraged ETF Tokens, providing investors with long exposure to stocks.
• Micron's trillion-dollar market cap is not just the result of a single earnings cycle but reflects the combined effect of the revaluation of AI storage value, the upgrade of HBM products, the establishment of long-term agreement mechanisms, and improved industry supply-demand dynamics.

The AI-Driven Storage Track

In the past, the storage industry was often seen as a classic strong cyclical sector, with corporate earnings highly dependent on supply-demand fluctuations and price elasticity. However, in the AI era, storage is evolving from a supporting component in general hardware to a critical resource within computing infrastructure.

Large model training and inference not only demand more powerful GPUs and interconnect capabilities but also require storage systems with higher bandwidth, greater capacity, and lower latency. Whether it's HBM on the GPU side or DDR5 and enterprise SSDs on the server side, their importance is significantly rising. For cloud providers and data center customers, storage is no longer just a cost item but a key variable affecting model training efficiency, inference throughput, and overall deployment costs.

The changes brought by the expansion of AI applications are not just about increased shipments of storage chips; more importantly, it's about an increased proportion of high-end products. Compared to regular DRAM, HBM offers higher bandwidth, greater integration, and higher added value. Enterprise SSDs also benefit from increased data center workloads. As product portfolios shift towards high performance, the revenue structure, profit margin structure, and valuation frameworks of leading manufacturers may all change.

Unlike the traditional logic of "increase production when prices rise," the supply of high-end storage products like HBM is released relatively slowly due to constraints from manufacturing processes, yield rates, advanced packaging, and customer certification cycles. Concurrently, core customers increasingly prefer to lock in capacity and partial pricing through long-term supply agreements. This gives leading manufacturers stronger revenue visibility and bargaining power than in the past, giving this cycle a more distinct structural characteristic.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, USA. It is a leading global provider of semiconductor storage and storage solutions. The company designs, manufactures, and sells DRAM, NAND Flash, NOR Flash, high-bandwidth memory HBM, SSDs, and storage products for data centers, mobile devices, automotive, industrial, and consumer electronics sectors. Using it as a case study isn't to focus the article on a single stock, but because Micron, in its product portfolio, customer structure, earnings elasticity, and market pricing, relatively typically reflects the evolution direction of the AI storage track.

Micron Technology

In the global storage chip industry, Micron, alongside Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, is a major DRAM supplier and a key player in the global NAND market. As demand for large model training and inference continues to grow, AI servers are driving rapid demand for storage products like high-bandwidth memory HBM, high-capacity DDR5, and enterprise SSDs. Storage chips are no longer just supporting components in general-purpose computing devices but are gradually becoming one of the key bottlenecks in AI computing infrastructure. Especially in GPU clusters, the bandwidth, capacity, and power consumption of HBM directly impact the performance output of AI chips. Consequently, Micron has been repositioned as a core supplier within the AI semiconductor supply chain. This report views Micron Technology as a key representative enterprise in the AI storage industry chain, analyzing its breakthrough to a trillion-dollar market cap, long-term agreements, HBM growth, valuation restructuring, and related Gate stock trading support.

Fundamental Analysis and Investment Logic

According to Gate market data, as of June 3, 2026, Micron Technology's stock price was $1,056. Based on approximately 1.1 billion diluted shares, the company's total market capitalization is around $1.17 trillion. Over the past year, Micron Technology (MU) has generally shown a clear pattern of volatile ascent, eventually accelerating to a breakout. Starting from around $110, the stock price steadily rose past $400 alongside expectations for AI storage demand. After a period of consolidation, it entered a bull run driven by the explosion in HBM and AI data center demand, with significant surges from May to June, reaching a high of $1,076, accumulating roughly an 8-fold increase from the year's low. Over the past year, Micron's stock price has risen from approximately $110 to near $1,056, a cumulative increase of over 800%. Concurrently, the company's market cap surpassed $1 trillion, reflecting the market's continuous revaluation of AI storage demand and HBM business prospects.

From a business structure perspective, Micron currently focuses on four main application areas: first, Data Center and Cloud Computing, including AI servers, enterprise servers, and networking equipment; second, Mobile Terminals, including smartphones and tablets; third, Storage Business, including enterprise and client SSDs; and fourth, Embedded Business, including automotive, industrial, and consumer electronics applications. With continuous expansion in AI data center capital expenditure, storage demand related to data centers is becoming Micron's fastest-growing business direction with the highest profit elasticity.

Micron's recent breakthrough to a trillion-dollar market cap is not simply due to a rebound in the traditional storage cycle, but stems from the market repricing of its strategic value within the AI infrastructure supply chain. FY2026 Q2 results showed the company achieved record revenue, gross margin, EPS, and free cash flow, validating the inflection point in profitability driven by AI demand, tight industry supply, and upgrades in high-end storage products.

The AI Era: Storage Evolves from Supporting Component to Strategic Asset

In traditional computing architectures, storage chips are often seen as supporting components alongside CPUs and GPUs, with industry pricing mainly influenced by cyclical supply and demand. However, in the AI era, particularly with the continuous scaling of large model training and inference, memory bandwidth, capacity, and energy efficiency have become key bottlenecks for the performance output of AI systems.

In its FY2026 Q2 earnings report, Micron explicitly stated that the record Q2 performance reflects "the strategic value of storage in the AI era." CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated that in the AI era, storage has become a strategic asset for customers. This indicates that Micron's management has repositioned the company from a traditional storage vendor to a core participant in AI computing infrastructure.

The rapid growth in demand for HBM, high-capacity DRAM, DDR5, and enterprise SSDs in AI servers is significantly increasing the value contribution of storage products within the server BOM. As GPU cluster scales expand, customers are not only concerned about chip computing power but also increasingly focus on the stability of storage supply, performance matching, and deployment cost control. This shift provides Micron with stronger bargaining power and higher earnings elasticity.

FY2026 Q2 Results Validate Demand Strength

Micron's FY2026 Q2 revenue reached $23.86 billion, a significant increase from the previous quarter's $13.64 billion and well above the $8.05 billion reported in the same period last year. The company's Non-GAAP net profit reached $14.02 billion, Non-GAAP EPS was $12.20, operating cash flow reached $11.90 billion, and adjusted free cash flow reached $6.90 billion.

More critically, earnings quality also improved. FY2026 Q2 Non-GAAP gross margin reached 74.9%, a significant improvement from 56.8% in the previous quarter and 37.9% in the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin reached 69.0%, a substantial expansion from 47.0% in the previous quarter and 24.9% a year ago.

This indicates that Micron is not just relying on revenue growth to drive earnings; it has achieved a leap in profit margins through the combined improvement of product pricing, product mix, and cost efficiency. For a storage company, a gross margin increase from the 30%-40% range to over 70% signifies a significant shift in the industry's supply-demand dynamics and the company's product portfolio.

Data Center and Cloud Business Become Core Growth Drivers

From a business segment perspective, Micron's FY2026 Q2 growth is highly concentrated in AI and data center-related areas.

The Cloud Memory Business Unit generated revenue of $7.749 billion, with a gross margin of 74% and an operating margin of 66%. The Core Data Center Business Unit generated revenue of $5.687 billion, with a gross margin of 74% and an operating margin of 67%. Combined, these two businesses generated over $13.4 billion in revenue, establishing themselves as the company's most important growth engine.

This indicates that Micron's business focus is shifting from traditional consumer electronics cycles like PCs and smartphones towards cloud computing, AI servers, and data centers. Compared to consumer electronics, AI data center customers are characterized by large capital expenditures, high product performance requirements, and strong demands for supply continuity, making it easier to form premiums for high-end products and establish long-term supply relationships.

HBM and High-End DRAM Drive Product Structure Upgrade

The product areas where Micron benefits most significantly are HBM and high-end DRAM. HBM is a critical storage product for AI GPUs and accelerators, characterized by high bandwidth, high capacity, and high energy efficiency. Its price per GB and gross margin are higher than those of regular DRAM.

UBS expects Micron's HBM ASP to increase approximately 50% year-over-year in 2027, driving continued expansion in HBM revenue. As AI chip platforms iterate, demands for HBM capacity and bandwidth will increase, enabling Micron to achieve a higher revenue share through HBM3E, subsequent HBM products, and advanced packaging capabilities.

The significance of the product structure upgrade is that Micron is no longer just following the industry's average DRAM price fluctuations; it gains stronger pricing power through high-end products. As the proportion of HBM increases, the company's overall gross margin and earnings stability will improve.

Tight Industry Supply Reinforces Price Elasticity

Micron's strong FY2026 Q2 performance also stems from tight industry supply. The results were driven by a robust demand environment, tight industry supply, and the company's execution. Some institutions predict the DRAM market will remain in short supply at least until Q2 2028, while NAND undersupply is expected to continue until Q4 2027. In a supply-constrained environment, DRAM and NAND prices have sustained support, allowing Micron's revenue and profit margins to remain high.

More importantly, this cycle differs from the past. In the past, storage manufacturers often rapidly expanded production after price increases, ultimately leading to oversupply and price declines. However, the demand for high-end memory in AI servers grows quickly, and HBM capacity expansion is constrained by technology, yield rates, advanced packaging, and customer certification cycles. Therefore, supply release cannot easily catch up with demand quickly.

Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) Enhance Earnings Visibility

An LTA, or Long-Term Agreement, in the semiconductor storage industry typically refers to an agreement between a supplier and core customer outlining supply arrangements for a future period, including purchase volumes, delivery schedules, product specifications, and in some cases, a pricing framework. In the past, procurement agreements in the storage industry were more inclined towards "locking volume without locking price." Customers would commit to a certain purchase volume in advance, providing suppliers with some demand visibility, but prices would still fluctuate rapidly with DRAM and NAND market supply and demand. Consequently, during industry downturns, significant price drops would still directly impact the revenue and profits of storage manufacturers like Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix.

LTAs represent another key logic in Micron's valuation revaluation. The new form of LTAs not only locks in purchase volume but also partially locks in price, with terms that can extend to 3-5 years. This differs from past agreements that only locked in volume. For Micron, the value of LTAs lies in improving revenue visibility, reducing price volatility, and enhancing cross-cycle profitability. For cloud providers and AI customers, LTAs secure future storage supply and partially lock in costs, avoiding being forced to accept higher prices during periods of tight supply. If LTAs are widely implemented, Micron's business model could gradually transition from a traditional cyclical company to a semiconductor supplier characterized by long-term orders, stable cash flow, and higher customer stickiness.

Earnings and Cash Flow Support Valuation Restructuring

Micron's adjusted free cash flow for FY2026 Q2 reached $6.9 billion, and the company's board of directors approved a 30% increase in the quarterly dividend. This indicates that not only have earnings improved significantly, but the quality of cash flow has also clearly strengthened. In capital markets, stable and high free cash flow typically supports higher valuations. Micron's valuation was relatively low in the past, mainly due to market concerns about the sustainability of its earnings. Now, if AI demand, LTAs, and HBM product structure upgrades collectively reduce cyclical volatility, Micron has the conditions to shift from a traditional cyclical storage stock valuation model towards that of a core AI semiconductor asset.

Gate Stock Investment Products

The most closely watched US stock track is the storage sector. Gate has also supported related US stock trading services within its TradFi segment. Users can participate in trading stocks, ETFs, and other assets from major securities markets using USDT through a unified account system.

Different from common market models like stock tokenization or RWA mapping, Gate's stock service emphasizes market access capabilities and a compliant trading system. By connecting with compliant brokerages, Gate provides stock and ETF trading services to users. These are not on-chain mapped assets or tokenized stock derivatives. Users can buy, hold, and sell stock assets through their Gate account, and related holdings, profits/losses, capital flows, and corporate action information can be viewed and managed centrally within the account.

In terms of coverage, Gate Stocks currently supports over 10,000 stocks and ETF assets, covering major securities trading markets and liquidity networks including NYSE, Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, and BATS. Currently, Gate Stocks supports intraday trading, with plans to gradually expand to 24/7 trading, providing global users with a more flexible entry point for US stock asset allocation.

In terms of product structure, the stock-related trading tools within Gate TradFi can be divided into three categories, taking MU trading products as an example:

Among these, Gate Stock spot trading is independent of the traditional CFD system. Stock trading does not involve the funding rates found in perpetual contracts, nor does it have holding costs like swap fees or overnight fees that may exist in CFD products. Therefore, it is more suitable for users looking to allocate to US stocks for the long term. In contrast, perpetual contracts and CFDs are more inclined towards trading tools, suitable for directional trading or risk management on short- to medium-term price fluctuations of Micron.

Leveraging the unified crypto asset account system, Gate further bridges digital asset trading with stock investment scenarios. After completing KYC and meeting regional access requirements, users can enter the stock section via the TradFi segment of the Gate App to view quotes and participate in trading after transferring stablecoins through the trading page or asset page. This signifies that the application scenario for USDT is extending from crypto asset trading to global stock asset allocation.

From an industry trend perspective, Gate's launch of stock trading services provides users with a unified trading entry for digital assets and traditional financial assets. For users focused on the AI semiconductor theme, the availability of real stocks, perpetual contracts, and CFDs allows them to engage in more flexible asset allocation and trading management around storage, AI, HBM, and semiconductor cycles within a single platform.

Risk Warning

From a track research perspective, future judgments on the storage industry's health and company quality can focus on four key dimensions: First, whether capital expenditure by AI servers and cloud providers continues to expand; Second, the penetration rate and ASP changes for high-end categories like HBM, DDR5, and enterprise SSDs; Third, the supply discipline and production expansion pace of leading manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron; Fourth, whether long-term supply agreements, customer certifications, and advanced packaging capabilities continue to strengthen industry barriers.

This means the storage track