Micron Technology, Inc., a major US memory manufacturer, is facing a high frequency-wide memory (HBM) price battle, and its share price is lower than Korean memory manufacturer SK Hynix.

Investing.com, Seeking Alpha, Korean media Pulse by Maeil Business News reported that Goldman Sachs analyst Giuni Lee reduced SK Hynix's investment evaluation from "buying" to "neutral" on the 17th on the grounds that high-frequency wide memory prices may decline for the first time in the Kingdom (2026). Lee pointed out that next year, HBM's market competition will likely be augmented, and the pricing capability will gradually shift to a large customer with SK Hynix that has a high exposure.

Goldman Sachs analysis team is also worried about SK Hynix's prospects for next year, and is expected to see an annual growth rate of 17% that is expected to be higher than the market.

It is worth noting that Korean financial service provider Daishin Securities Co. decided earlier to repair the average HBM price valuation next year from the original annual increase of 7% to a 6% reduction year on the grounds that the price advantage of HBM4 may be violated.

Micron, which also has a place in the HBM market, ended up falling 2.72% on the 17th and closed at $113.26, reaching a new low since June 9, with a decline of 30 constituent stocks in the Philadelphia semiconductor index. SK Hynix ended on the 17th and fell 8.95% and closed 269,500 KRW, reaching a new low since June 23.

SK Hynix is the main HBM supplier to NVIDIA (Nvidia Corp.).

Korean media recently reported that Samsung Electronics is inquiring with NVIDIA about the supply of GB300 Blackwell Ultra with 12-layer stacking "HBM3E". If Samsung becomes the third 12-layer HBM3E supplier, NVIDIA will surely get the price negotiation advantages of SK Hynix and Micron.

A person in the industry said that as we all know, SK Hynix's 12-layer HBM3E supply to NVIDIA is about 60% more expensive than the 8-layer version; from the perspective of NVIDIA, if Samsung's HBM quality is certified, there is no reason not to place orders, because this will encourage suppliers to compete with each other. According to reports, NVIDIA has repeatedly delayed the use of HBM4 timetable for the same reason.