A 20% Drop in Smartphone Shipments Shows Who Wins When Memory Gets Expensive

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- American News Group News Commentary - Global smartphone shipments fell 20% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, the weakest third quarter since 2012, according to preliminary estimates from Counterpoint Research. The firm tied the drop to soaring DRAM and NAND memory prices, which have raised component costs and pushed global retail smartphone prices up 20% so far this year. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM).

The slump did not come out of nowhere. In February, IDC forecast that global smartphone shipments would fall 12.9% in 2026 to 1.12 billion units, which it called the steepest decline on record, as AI data center buildouts absorbed memory supply and chipmakers prioritized higher-margin data center parts. IDC also projected the average smartphone selling price would climb 14% to a record $523.

"What we are witnessing is not a temporary squeeze, but a tsunami-like shock originating in the memory supply chain," said Francisco Jeronimo, Vice President for Worldwide Client Devices at IDC, at the time.

The third quarter confirmed the pressure. Counterpoint reported that Samsung held first place with a 23% share on a 3% shipment decline, while Apple took 22%, its first third-quarter share above 20%. Xiaomi shipments fell more than 30%, and OPPO and vivo each fell more than 20%. Counterpoint senior analyst Shilpi Jain said consumers are holding on to their devices longer than estimated. In China, the world's largest smartphone market, IDC's preliminary data showed shipments down 15.4% in the quarter.

The result is a split market. Phone makers and the chip suppliers that depend on handset volumes are absorbing the hit, while the memory makers whose prices drove the slowdown are reporting record results.

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In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Apple reported revenue of $109.4 billion for its fiscal third quarter ended June 27, 2026, up 16% year over year, with iPhone revenue of $54.3 billion. In the September quarter, Counterpoint said Apple's shipments declined, which it attributed partly to the absence of a base iPhone 18 model, even as the company gained share. In China, IDC reported Apple's share rose to 17.8% from 15.8% a year earlier.

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM)

Qualcomm reported fiscal third quarter 2026 revenue of $9.9 billion, down 4% year over year, with handset chip revenue of $5.09 billion, down 20%. The company cited a challenging memory and supply environment and rising input costs, while its automotive revenue grew 61% to $1.59 billion. Qualcomm guided fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU)

Micron reported record fiscal fourth quarter 2026 revenue of $54.23 billion on September 30, up from $11.32 billion a year earlier, and fiscal 2026 revenue of $133.19 billion. Its Mobile and Client Business Unit generated $13.11 billion in the quarter, compared with $3.76 billion a year earlier, and the company guided first quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion.

"Micron delivered record fiscal 2026 results, and we expect an even stronger fiscal 2027," said Sanjay Mehrotra, Chairman and CEO.

Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK)

Sandisk reported fiscal fourth quarter 2026 revenue of $8.97 billion on August 5, up 372% year over year and 51% from the prior quarter, with about two-thirds of the sequential increase coming from higher pricing. Consumer revenue, however, slipped 5% year over year to $556 million. The company guided fiscal first quarter 2027 revenue of $10.30 billion to $10.80 billion.

Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM)

Arm, whose designs run inside most of the world's smartphones, reported record first quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $1.29 billion, up 22% year over year, including royalty revenue of $715 million, also up 22%. On its earnings call, management pointed to softness in the smartphone market from elevated memory prices, and said full-year royalty growth is now expected to land closer to the high teens, with data center demand helping offset handset weakness.

Charts tell the rest of the story. For technical analysis on the names moving with the memory cycle, see The Roadmap from Stock Preachers at stockpreachers.com.

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