Memory has a self-reinforcing supply → price → profit loop. Toggle the state to watch the record-margin feedback invert when simultaneously-funded mega-capex lands into moderating AI demand (~2028 is a flagged risk branch, not a certainty).
state 1 Sold-out hypercycle
state 2 ~2028 oversupply flip
Memory supply-to-price-to-profit feedback loop and its ~2028 oversupply-flip risk
A wafer fab capacity feeds an HBM packaging stack sold out at record prices, funding record margins and FCF that pay for simultaneous mega-capex, which can either reinvest in the hot loop or ~2028 land as oversupply that compresses prices and margins.
DRAM/HBM
wafer capacity
Supply inelastic
scaling stalled ·
4-5 yr capacity leads
Sold out 2026-27
HBM/DRAM at
record ASPs
Record margins
and FCF
margins compress
Simultaneous
mega-capex
funded by record
cash flow
feeds next round
Flip ~2028
capacity lands as
AI demand moderates
compress
compression loop
Prices/margins
compress — cyclical
view vindicated