Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTKeithen Drury, The Motley FoolSun, August 9, 2026 at 12:20 PM GMT+2 4 min readApple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook dropped a bombshell on investors during the company's latest quarterly earnings call, noting a "100-year flood" in memory chip pricing, suggesting a major event had occurred that upended all the company's usual analysis. This could be a major problem for Apple, as it has to raise prices just to maintain margins, potentially stretching already-indebted consumers and causing sales issues.However, just because Apple may be struggling due to rising memory chip prices doesn't mean that investors will miss out on it. Instead, I'd suggest looking at memory chip companies to invest in, as they're the ones making a killing from rising prices.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »Two that I think are well-positioned to cash in are Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Micron (NASDAQ: MU). Each company has been on an absolute tear this year due to rising memory chip prices, and the trend could continue into 2027 if prices remain high.Apple CEO Tim Cook. Image source: Apple.Sandisk and Micron each fabricate memory chips. However, Sandisk focuses only on NAND memory, while Micron produces both NAND and DRAM. Both types of memory are used in Apple products and in data centers. DRAM memory is much faster but has a lower storage capacity. NAND memory is typically used for long-term data storage, although it isn't as fast as DRAM.Each chip type is vital in a wide variety of computing devices. Still, with data centers sucking up all of the memory chip production capacity, every electronic device is being affected by soaring prices.Apple isn't the only company in a pinch, either. Amazon noted on its conference call that it was raising its 2026 capital expenditure forecast from $200 billion to $220 billion due to rising memory chip prices. That likely echoes sentiment across the board from various AI hyperscalers that are dealing with the same problem, but it's not a problem for Sandisk and Micron. Both companies are making a fortune from rising prices and increased demand.Sandisk recently reported Q4 of fiscal year 2026 earnings (ended July 3) and delivered a jaw-dropping 372% year-over-year revenue growth rate. Even more impressive was a 51% quarter-over-quarter growth rate, showing that rising prices are still ongoing.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info