## Memory Sector Becomes Taiwan Stock Market Focus: Winbond Leading NAND Flash Manufacturer Rankings, Fundamental Changes Behind the Trading Halt
The memory market supply side is undergoing a fundamental inflection point. International major manufacturers are shifting production capacity from traditional DRAM and Flash memory to capture the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, creating a notable supply gap in global memory. In this wave of structural shortage, Winbond Electronics, as a leading Taiwan manufacturer among global NAND Flash producers, has become the most direct beneficiary.
### AI demand ignites supply tensions, DDR4 spot prices show historic surge
Over the past year, DRAM market inventory levels dropped rapidly from 13-17 weeks at the beginning of the year to 2-4 weeks in October, reaching unprecedented lows. More notably, DDR4 specification supply-demand has reversed—leading manufacturers prioritize capacity allocation to next-generation DDR5 and HBM products, causing DDR4 supply to shrink sharply, while enterprise-grade storage equipment maintains strong demand for DDR4.
This mismatch has created remarkable price increases: DDR4 contract prices surged from just over 1 NT dollar per unit in early year to 5-6 times higher by Q4. The market even witnessed a rare "price inversion"—DDR4 spot prices once exceeded DDR5, revealing severe pressure on the supply side.
Winbond's consolidated November revenue reached NT$8.629 billion, posting not only 5% month-on-month growth but 38.7% year-on-year growth, marking a three-year high. Cumulative revenue for the first 11 months reached NT$79.635 billion, up 5.85% year-on-year, with clear acceleration in revenue momentum.
Foreign investment institutions have recently published optimistic reports, believing the memory price hike wave will extend through 2026, with particular emphasis on DDR4's 16Gb specification facing the most severe supply shortage—spot prices have soared to approximately $100 per unit, significantly higher than industry reference price of $45.5. Looking ahead to 2026, DRAM contract prices are expected to continue rising, with DDR5 and DDR4 estimated at NT$17 and NT$12 per unit respectively, suggesting this cycle extends at least through next year.
### Stock price rises three consecutive days, both technical and chip flow signals strengthen
Winbond hit the daily trading halt today, closing at NT$67.9, up 9.87%, with trading volume and value both leading Taiwan stock market. This marks the third consecutive trading day of gains, with cumulative gains reaching 20.37%, also driving the entire memory sector including Macronix and Powertech Technology higher.
On the technical side, the stock price touched the upper Bollinger Band today, firmly above short-term moving averages, forming a clear bullish alignment. Capital flows are equally active, with all three major institutional investors simultaneously increasing positions last week, with combined net purchases exceeding 50,000 shares, of which foreign investors alone purchased over 42,000 shares in a single week.
To capitalize on market opportunities, Winbond is advancing dual-axis capacity expansion: the Taichung facility continues ramping up NOR Flash, NAND Flash, and mature-process DRAM output; the Kaohsiung new facility will significantly increase DRAM monthly capacity from current 15,000 wafers to 24,000-25,000 wafers, with 16-nanometer advanced process production expected in Q1 2026, and CUBE wafer-level stacking technology will contribute to revenue starting 2027.
Market forecasts predict the global DDR4 supply-demand gap will expand beyond 10% in 2026. Driven by diverse application demands in artificial intelligence, industrial computers, and automotive electronics, Winbond is poised to enter the stage of most significant profit growth in the memory industry's upswing cycle. Taiwan's memory sector inventory turnover days have declined from 185 days to 140 days, with apparent improvements in revenue and profitability, with the overall sector's subsequent performance closely tracking memory prices and actual end-user demand dynamics.
## Memory Sector Becomes Taiwan Stock Market Focus: Winbond Leading NAND Flash Manufacturer Rankings, Fundamental Changes Behind the Trading Halt
The memory market supply side is undergoing a fundamental inflection point. International major manufacturers are shifting production capacity from traditional DRAM and Flash memory to capture the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, creating a notable supply gap in global memory. In this wave of structural shortage, Winbond Electronics, as a leading Taiwan manufacturer among global NAND Flash producers, has become the most direct beneficiary.
### AI demand ignites supply tensions, DDR4 spot prices show historic surge
Over the past year, DRAM market inventory levels dropped rapidly from 13-17 weeks at the beginning of the year to 2-4 weeks in October, reaching unprecedented lows. More notably, DDR4 specification supply-demand has reversed—leading manufacturers prioritize capacity allocation to next-generation DDR5 and HBM products, causing DDR4 supply to shrink sharply, while enterprise-grade storage equipment maintains strong demand for DDR4.
This mismatch has created remarkable price increases: DDR4 contract prices surged from just over 1 NT dollar per unit in early year to 5-6 times higher by Q4. The market even witnessed a rare "price inversion"—DDR4 spot prices once exceeded DDR5, revealing severe pressure on the supply side.
### Winbond's November revenue hits three-year high, institutional investors turn bullish simultaneously
Winbond's consolidated November revenue reached NT$8.629 billion, posting not only 5% month-on-month growth but 38.7% year-on-year growth, marking a three-year high. Cumulative revenue for the first 11 months reached NT$79.635 billion, up 5.85% year-on-year, with clear acceleration in revenue momentum.
Foreign investment institutions have recently published optimistic reports, believing the memory price hike wave will extend through 2026, with particular emphasis on DDR4's 16Gb specification facing the most severe supply shortage—spot prices have soared to approximately $100 per unit, significantly higher than industry reference price of $45.5. Looking ahead to 2026, DRAM contract prices are expected to continue rising, with DDR5 and DDR4 estimated at NT$17 and NT$12 per unit respectively, suggesting this cycle extends at least through next year.
### Stock price rises three consecutive days, both technical and chip flow signals strengthen
Winbond hit the daily trading halt today, closing at NT$67.9, up 9.87%, with trading volume and value both leading Taiwan stock market. This marks the third consecutive trading day of gains, with cumulative gains reaching 20.37%, also driving the entire memory sector including Macronix and Powertech Technology higher.
On the technical side, the stock price touched the upper Bollinger Band today, firmly above short-term moving averages, forming a clear bullish alignment. Capital flows are equally active, with all three major institutional investors simultaneously increasing positions last week, with combined net purchases exceeding 50,000 shares, of which foreign investors alone purchased over 42,000 shares in a single week.
### Dual-axis capacity expansion initiated, seizing structural shortage opportunities
To capitalize on market opportunities, Winbond is advancing dual-axis capacity expansion: the Taichung facility continues ramping up NOR Flash, NAND Flash, and mature-process DRAM output; the Kaohsiung new facility will significantly increase DRAM monthly capacity from current 15,000 wafers to 24,000-25,000 wafers, with 16-nanometer advanced process production expected in Q1 2026, and CUBE wafer-level stacking technology will contribute to revenue starting 2027.
Market forecasts predict the global DDR4 supply-demand gap will expand beyond 10% in 2026. Driven by diverse application demands in artificial intelligence, industrial computers, and automotive electronics, Winbond is poised to enter the stage of most significant profit growth in the memory industry's upswing cycle. Taiwan's memory sector inventory turnover days have declined from 185 days to 140 days, with apparent improvements in revenue and profitability, with the overall sector's subsequent performance closely tracking memory prices and actual end-user demand dynamics.