Apple Petitions U.S. Government to Buy CXMT Memory Chips

Apple petitioned the U.S. government for permission to bypass current suppliers Micron Technology and Sandisk to purchase memory chips from the Chinese company ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The move sparked immediate investor concern, leading to a 2% drop in Micron Technology stock on June 29, 2026.

Investors fear that if the federal government grants this request, Micron could lose significant pricing power and a large portion of its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) DRAM business, which is a primary driver of the company's profit margins.

Some market analysts suggest the actual impact may be limited. Mizuho analyst Jordan Klein noted that global DRAM and NAND supply continues to trail end demand. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the U.S. or Chinese governments would approve the transaction, given China's own internal ambitions regarding artificial intelligence.