China’s largest DRAM maker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), reported third-quarter revenue of about RMB 118.7 billion, up 613% year over year. A global memory shortage lifted both chip shipments and prices, boosting profits across the sector. But CXMT’s rapid capacity expansion could add to supply pressure later, while the company remains far smaller than Micron Technology and has less exposure to data centers.
DRAM prices lift CXMT revenue and margins
CXMT said on October 30 that the global DRAM shortage drove its third-quarter growth, increasing both the volume of chips sold and their average selling prices. Revenue reached about RMB 118.7 billion, or roughly $18 billion, more than seven times the level a year earlier.
Profitability rose alongside sales. CXMT’s gross margin was about 89.5%, up roughly 2 percentage points from the second quarter. Net profit attributable to shareholders came to about RMB 54.4 billion, compared with a loss in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose about 19% sequentially, slower than the near-doubling recorded from the first to the second quarter.
Micron has also benefited from tight memory supply. For its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 3, 2026, Micron reported an 86.8% gross margin, up from 44.7% in the same quarter of fiscal 2025. The margins at both companies reflect how constrained supply is supporting DRAM prices, though elevated profitability alone does not show how long those conditions will last.
CXMT gains share but remains smaller than Micron
Despite its rapid growth, CXMT’s quarterly revenue was still about one-third of Micron’s. Micron generated $54.2 billion in revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter and forecast about $61.5 billion for the current quarter.
TrendForce estimates that CXMT’s share of global DRAM revenue rose to 9.5% in the second quarter from 7.6% in the first. Micron held a 23.3% share in the second quarter. CXMT is gaining a larger presence in the global market, but the gap with Micron remains substantial.
The companies also have different business mixes. CXMT has traditionally focused on consumer electronics. It plans to launch server memory modules using a new high-density chip design by the end of 2026. Micron’s growth, by contrast, has been driven more heavily by data centers: cloud memory and core data center revenue totaled about $34.3 billion in fiscal Q4, or roughly 63% of the company’s total, compared with about 54% a year earlier. Core data center revenue rose 56% from the previous quarter.
Micron’s mobile and client business, which supplies memory for phones and PCs, generated $13.1 billion in fiscal Q4 revenue, up 14% sequentially. That business overlaps more closely with CXMT’s current consumer-electronics focus, making phone and PC memory a more direct area of competition.
CXMT’s cash gives it room to expand capacity
The timing of new capacity reaching the market matters alongside current sales. CXMT said capacity construction contributed to its results. After completing a public share offering in the third quarter, the company held about RMB 285 billion in cash as of September 30, equivalent to roughly $43 billion. That provides funding for further expansion.
Micron ended fiscal 2026 with about $73.5 billion in cash and marketable investments. In its latest annual report, the company warned that large investments by the Chinese government and affiliated entities could intensify competition and contribute to excess supply in DRAM and NAND. Memory-sector booms are vulnerable to new capacity coming online, making CXMT’s expansion both a source of growth and a potential factor in a future shift in supply and demand.
Micron’s valuation reflects cycle concerns
At the October 30 close cited in the report, Micron shares were at $884.74, down 5.30% for the day and about 26% below their closing record set in late June. Micron earned $74.33 per share in fiscal 2026, putting the stock at about 12 times earnings based on that closing price. The company expects revenue to rise again in the current quarter, while its valuation suggests investors are also weighing the possibility of lower profits ahead.
CXMT could continue gaining share in phone and PC memory, while Micron’s gross margin of about 87% may not be sustainable over the long term. For now, CXMT’s results show how tight supply is supporting memory prices and profitability. Its cash position and expansion plans, however, make the pace of future capacity growth a key factor to watch.