Micron Warns of Heavy Spending Amid Memory Crunch | Bloomberg Tech 3/19/2026

AI memory shortage drives record profits

Micron posted a quadrupling of revenue and 600% jump in earnings-per-share driven by unprecedented price spikes in High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and DRAM shortages affecting PC, auto, and industrial makers.

Massive capex plans trigger investor concern

Shares dropped 2.6% as Micron announced aggressive capital expenditure increases to expand HBM production facilities, following similar expansion moves by Samsung and SK Hynix.

Nvidia supply relationship faces scrutiny

Investors worry Micron could lose share in Nvidia's next-generation chips to SK Hynix, though the company claims it has begun shipping HBM4 in volume designed for upcoming AI processors.

Powell warns AI boom adds inflation pressure

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the rapid construction of AI data centers is creating supply bottlenecks and 'pushing inflation up at the margin' across related goods and services.

Middle East shocks threaten stability

Destruction of energy infrastructure drove Brent crude up 4.4%, creating stagflationary risks that constrain central bank flexibility despite Powell's view that oil shocks are typically transitory.

Regionalization replaces globalization

Marta Norton highlighted that geopolitical tensions are accelerating a shift from global supply chains to regionalized operations, with Asia and Europe facing greater energy import vulnerabilities than the US.

Alibaba profits crash amid $100B ambition

Quarterly earnings plummeted 67% to early 2024 lows as heavy investments in quick commerce and AI infrastructure crushed profitability, despite setting a $100 billion cloud and AI revenue target.

DeepSeek disruption accelerates adoption

Open-source models like DeepSeek are driving massive consumer adoption in China, creating localized AI capabilities that run on consumer hardware and intensifying competition with better-performing Tencent.

Investors punish unclear monetization

Youkyung Lee noted investors are aggressively punishing companies without clear AI profitability paths, favoring Tencent's monetization clarity over Alibaba's growth-focused strategy.

Uber bets $1.2 billion on Rivian robotaxis

Uber is investing $1.2 billion in Rivian to develop a dedicated autonomous vehicle fleet, marking a strategic expansion beyond consumer EVs into commercial robotaxi services.

Social media faces addiction liability

Meta and YouTube are defending against lawsuits in Los Angeles alleging intentional addictive design, while California and other states propose legislation banning social media access for children under 16.