What CEOs Are Saying: Memory Crisis

Inside recent earnings calls by Dell, HP, and NetApp

The technology hardware sector closed its fiscal quarter under extraordinary pressure.

A global memory shortage, driven by AI server buildout and capacity shifts to high-bandwidth memory production, is creating what analysts are calling the first “memory supercycle” since 2018.

In lay terms, we’re talking about a sustained period where demand for memory chips far exceeds supply, which jacks up prices continuously. DRAM (dynamic random-access memory, the working memory in computers and servers) inventories have fallen to just 3.3 weeks of supply, matching 2018 lows, while prices have surged as much as 60% since September. The tightness is expected to persist through at least 2026.

How AI Demand Is Driving a Multi-Year Memory Supercycle

For the three companies whose earnings calls we’re looking at today, the impact varied. Dell rode huge AI server demand to record results and feels confident in its supply chain. But HP warned that memory costs would cut 30 cents from its earnings per share and announced layoffs tied to an AI-driven restructuring. NetApp, meanwhile, secured pricing through fiscal year-end and raised profit guidance on modest revenue growth.

Let’s take a closer look.

HP (HPQ): Q4 2025 Earnings Call

November 25, 2025

HP delivered its sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth at $14.6 billion, up 4% year-over-year, but the company’s fiscal 2026 guidance tells a different story. Said CEO Enrique Lores: