2 AI Stocks Riding a Server Boom That's Accelerating Faster Than Anyone Expected

• Micron precocious boosted its outlook for server shipments.

• Micron sells some HBM representation for AI chips and modular server DRAM, some of which are successful abbreviated supply.

• Intel is struggling to support up with request for server CPUs, though capableness constraints are expected to easiness aboriginal successful 2026.

• 10 stocks we similar amended than Micron Technology ›

Soaring request for servers is astonishing adjacent the astir optimistic AI hardware providers. In December, Micron (NASDAQ: MU) boosted its outlook for 2025 server portion maturation from 10% to a precocious teens percentage. The update was notable for some the standard of the summation arsenic good arsenic the information that it came truthful precocious successful the year. Looking up to 2026, Micron sees beardown request maturation continuing.

The worth of servers shipped is besides increasing, driven by the displacement to AI servers that diagnostic costly GPUs. IDC predicts an 80% emergence successful planetary server spending successful 2025, and different 24.3% summation successful 2026.

This situation benefits Micron, but it besides benefits Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). Intel leads the marketplace successful information halfway CPUs, and though it has been shedding marketplace stock to AMD for years, the CPU elephantine is present struggling to support up with request arsenic hyperscalers ramp up orders.

Memory chips mostly enactment similar a commodity, truthful during times of undersupply, prices tin emergence dramatically. That's precisely what's happening close now, and accrued request for servers volition lone propulsion prices up adjacent higher.

Micron, on with different representation spot manufacturers, person been shifting accumulation to high-bandwidth representation chips utilized successful AI accelerators. This has reduced the proviso of modular DRAM chips, which are inactive indispensable for servers. "...in the mean term, we are lone capable to conscionable astir 50% to two-thirds of our request from respective cardinal customers," said Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra during the astir caller net call.

Micron is boosting its 2026 superior spending, but gathering representation spot facilities tin instrumentality years. The archetypal of 2 caller factories successful Idaho is scheduled to statesman producing wafers astir mid-2027, with the 2nd expected to beryllium operational by 2028. Meanwhile, a planned mill successful New York is not expected to participate accumulation until 2030.

To enactment it simply, meaningful proviso maturation is improbable to hap successful 2026. Micron volition merchantability each representation spot it tin produce, and prices are apt to proceed rising until either proviso catches up oregon request moderates. For the clip being, Micron finds itself successful the best-case scenario.

Micron's gross surged 57 twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful the archetypal 4th of fiscal 2026, and nett income astir tripled. While Micron's accumulation capableness is simply a large constraint, beardown pricing driven by expanding request for AI accelerators and servers volition apt thrust different twelvemonth of beardown gross and net maturation successful 2026.