---
title: "Apple's new CEO keeps Chinese DRAM on the table as CXMT posts a sevenfold quarter"
description: "John Ternus, Apple's chief executive since September 1, refuses to rule out Chinese memory chips while shortage prices force cuts to iPhone 18 Pro orders. The Chinese supplier under review just guided a sevenfold quarter, and its shares rose 3.28% on October 16 while Micron fell 5.63%."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Markets"
published: 2026-10-17T15:11:38.191Z
modified: 2026-10-17T15:11:38.191Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/apple-s-new-ceo-keeps-chinese-dram-on-the-table-as-cxmt-posts-a-sevenfold-quarter
language: en
keywords: "Apple, CXMT, Micron, Memory Chips, Semiconductors"
---

# Apple's new CEO keeps Chinese DRAM on the table as CXMT posts a sevenfold quarter

> John Ternus, Apple's chief executive since September 1, refuses to rule out Chinese memory chips while shortage prices force cuts to iPhone 18 Pro orders. The Chinese supplier under review just guided a sevenfold quarter, and its shares rose 3.28% on October 16 while Micron fell 5.63%.

## A crisis, in the new chief's own words

[John Ternus](https://theinference.org/markets/people/john-ternus), [Apple](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/apple)'s chief executive since September 1, used his first cover interview to keep Chinese memory on Apple's list of options [1][2]. Memory supply constraints are "clearly a serious crisis," he told TIME [in an interview published October 15](https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/apple-ceo-weighs-chinese-memory-chips-amid-shortage/ar-AA2elmTj), and Apple's "basic stance is that we must review all options"; he named no supplier [1]. The Financial Times reported in July that Apple is trialing DRAM, the workhorse memory in phones and servers, from [ChangXin Memory Technologies](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/cxmt) (CXMT), starting with devices sold in China. The Wall Street Journal reported in August that the tests span iPhones and MacBooks, with no final decision on adoption [1]. The market has already voted on the odds: on October 16, as the preliminary results circulated, CXMT's Shanghai-listed shares rose 3.28% while [Micron](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/micron) fell 5.63%, leaving Micron down more than 10% for the week [6][9].

## The memory bill pushed the door open

[Tim Cook](https://theinference.org/markets/people/tim-cook), Ternus's predecessor, called memory pricing a "100-year flood" on [Apple's July 30 earnings call](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/apple-ceo-already-being-pressured-184849814.html), and finance chief [Kevan Parekh](https://theinference.org/markets/people/kevan-parekh) said memory caused more than 100% of Apple's gross-margin compression [3]. Samsung and [SK Hynix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sk-hynix) raised prices on the low-power DRAM they supply for iPhones by 80% and 100% in the first quarter of this year [1]. A report then said [Apple cut October iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max orders](https://kalkine.com/news/technology/skyworks-solutions-nasdaqswks-why-it-sank-on-the-sp-500-as-a-report-flagged-apple-iphone-order-cuts) by about a seventh to a fifth of plan, after memory costs pushed those phones to $1,199 and $1,299 [4]. Apple had walked away from CXMT talks earlier this year, finding no price advantage, and CXMT's cost per bit still runs about 30% above the incumbents [5]. Washington pushes the other way: seven US senators, Chuck Schumer among them, have asked Apple to avoid CXMT, which sits on a Pentagon list of Chinese military-linked firms [1].

## CXMT swung from a loss to RMB 131 billion

The supplier under review just guided an eightfold nine months. [Its Shanghai filing](https://www.briefs.co/news/cxmt-says-profit-and-sales-soared-as-memory-demand-lifted-pr/) puts January-to-September revenue at RMB 265–270 billion, up 726–742% on the year, and net income at RMB 131–132.5 billion ($19.6–19.8 billion), against a RMB 5.3 billion loss; chairman Zhu Yiming proposed a RMB 1–2 billion buyback [6][7]. The third quarter alone was guided at RMB 114.7–119.7 billion, up 15–20% on the quarter and 589–619% on the year, a sevenfold quarter [7][8]. Counterpoint Research counts CXMT at 10% of global DRAM revenue in the second quarter, up from 4% a year earlier, behind Samsung at 38%, SK Hynix at 25% and Micron at 24% [7][8].

*Chart: **A RMB 5.3 billion loss became RMB 131 billion of profit in nine months** Bar chart of CXMT nine-month revenue and net income, 2025 actuals against 2026 guidance range endpoints, in RMB billions*

*January to September, RMB billions. 2026 bars are the low and high endpoints of CXMT's guided ranges as filed in Shanghai, not midpoints. Sources: Briefs Finance and The Chosun Ilbo. [6][7]*

*Chart: **CXMT reached 10% of global DRAM revenue, from 4% a year earlier** Column chart of global DRAM revenue share in Q2 2026: Samsung 38, SK Hynix 25, Micron 24, CXMT 10 percent*

*Share of global DRAM revenue, second quarter of 2026, Counterpoint Research estimates. Sources: The Chosun Ilbo and SammyFans. [7][8]*

## Who wins if Apple says yes

If Apple qualifies CXMT for China-market devices, CXMT gains a brand buyer at iPhone scale, and Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron lose the three-supplier market Cook complained about [3]. Micron's revenue is cushioned: [about $150 billion of take-or-pay contracts](https://theinference.org/article/musk-calls-micron-s-prices-reasonable-as-micron-fell-14-and-150-billion-sits-locked-in), paid whether or not customers take delivery, covering more than 35% of its revenue through 2030 [5]. What breaks is the pricing power in the shares. That sets up a two-sided trade: CXMT, the breaker, whose market already rewards the news with a 3.28% gain against Micron's 5.63% fall, or patience until Apple answers. The one position this setup punishes is the incumbents' pricing power held into their earnings while the door stays open.

## Overblown, say the analysts; the tests decide

Rosenblatt's Kevin Cassidy called the selloff "overblown" and [kept a Buy rating on Micron](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/micron-stock-tumbles-despite-analyst-194225087.html) [9]. Fundstrat's Kent Fung argues CXMT's 4F² design, a denser memory-cell layout, attacks conventional server DRAM rather than the high-bandwidth memory AI data centers buy [9]. CXMT has also yet to prove it can build the new cells at commercial yields [5]. Its president, Cao Kanyu, has promised [server-grade DDR5 modules by the end of 2026](https://theinference.org/article/cxmt-says-server-dram-ships-in-2026-two-years-ahead-of-samsung-landing-on-micron-s-87-margin) [9]. No adoption decision exists [1]. The tell is whether CXMT DRAM appears in a China-market iPhone or Mac: that is the signal Apple will split its memory bill.

## Takeaway

Apple's new chief executive has kept Chinese memory supplier CXMT under review while shortage pricing forces iPhone order cuts; CXMT's sevenfold quarter and 3.28% share gain against Micron's 5.63% fall show the market already pricing a split of the memory bill, but no adoption decision exists and CXMT's cost per bit still runs about 30% above the incumbents.

## Sources

1. [The Chosun Ilbo via MSN, "Apple CEO weighs Chinese memory chips amid shortage," 16 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/apple-ceo-weighs-chinese-memory-chips-amid-shortage/ar-AA2elmTj)
2. [Digg, "Apple CEO John Ternus argues iPhones will still matter in an AI future," 16 October 2026](https://digg.com/world-business/7364oqsi)
3. [24/7 Wall St. via Yahoo Finance, "Apple's New CEO Is Already Being Pressured to Drop the Chinese Chip Deal Tim Cook Fought to Keep," 22 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/apple-ceo-already-being-pressured-184849814.html)
4. [Kalkine, "Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS): Why It Sank on the S&P 500 as a Report Flagged Apple iPhone Order Cuts," 17 October 2026](https://kalkine.com/news/technology/skyworks-solutions-nasdaqswks-why-it-sank-on-the-sp-500-as-a-report-flagged-apple-iphone-order-cuts)
5. [The Inference, "Musk calls Micron's prices reasonable as Micron fell 14% and $150 billion sits locked in," 14 October 2026](https://theinference.org/article/musk-calls-micron-s-prices-reasonable-as-micron-fell-14-and-150-billion-sits-locked-in)
6. [Briefs Finance, "CXMT Says Profit and Sales Soared as Memory Demand Lifted Prices," 16 October 2026](https://www.briefs.co/news/cxmt-says-profit-and-sales-soared-as-memory-demand-lifted-pr/)
7. [The Chosun Ilbo via MSN, "ChangXin Memory Technologies' Q3 revenue surges sevenfold," 16 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-xl/money/general/changxin-memory-technologies-q3-revenue-surges-sevenfold/ar-AA2eq6yC)
8. [SammyFans, "CXMT claims 7x DRAM revenue on AI boom to rival Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron," 17 October 2026](https://www.sammyfans.com/2026/10/17/cxmt-claims-7x-dram-revenue-on-ai-boom/)
9. [TheStreet via Yahoo Finance, "Micron stock tumbles despite analyst calls semiconductor selloff overblown," 16 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/micron-stock-tumbles-despite-analyst-194225087.html)


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Apple's new CEO keeps Chinese DRAM on the table as CXMT posts a sevenfold quarter — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/apple-s-new-ceo-keeps-chinese-dram-on-the-table-as-cxmt-posts-a-sevenfold-quarter