--- title: "CXMT validates the DRAM design Micron abandoned, with server samples due December 31" description: "CXMT says engineering validation of its sixth-generation 4F² DRAM platform is complete and first server-memory samples reach clients by December 31, a dated test of the shortage behind Micron's 86.8% gross margin." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-11-01T17:20:03.702Z modified: 2026-11-01T17:20:03.702Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/cxmt-validates-the-dram-design-micron-abandoned-with-server-samples-due-december-31 language: en keywords: "CXMT, Micron, DRAM, Memory, Semiconductors" --- # CXMT validates the DRAM design Micron abandoned, with server samples due December 31 > CXMT says engineering validation of its sixth-generation 4F² DRAM platform is complete and first server-memory samples reach clients by December 31, a dated test of the shortage behind Micron's 86.8% gross margin. ## Validation done, samples dated [CXMT](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/cxmt), China's largest DRAM maker, used its first earnings report since its July Shanghai listing to say [engineering-sample validation of its sixth-generation DRAM platform is complete](https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1373367.shtml): core performance targets met on real wafers, with mass production to follow customer qualification [1]. It was the first public confirmation the platform rests on 4F², a cell layout giving each memory cell four times the square of the smallest line a fab can print, roughly a third less area than the 6F² cells the industry ships today [1][3]. First DDR5 RDIMM modules, registered memory for servers, go to customer testing by December 31, servers first, then other lines; Samsung plans sub-10-nanometre 4F² mass production only in 2028, and [SK hynix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sk-hynix) published its roadmap in 2025 [1][2]. The year-end pledge is not new: [The Inference covered it on October 11](https://theinference.org/article/cxmt-says-server-dram-ships-in-2026-two-years-ahead-of-samsung-landing-on-micron-s-87-margin) [1][2]. The validation, [Micron](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/micron)'s exit and the quarter's numbers are. ## Micron says the physics does not work Micron President and CTO Scott DeBoer [told a October 21 webinar](https://hothardware.com/news/why-micron-is-suddenly-ditching-4f-dram) that DRAM density is set by the spacing capacitors require rather than the nominal cell footprint, so 4F² buys little density at sharply higher cost; after more than two decades of research, Micron scrapped commercialization and will keep scaling 6F² toward stacked 3D DRAM [4]. CXMT's answer, at its October 30 briefing: "the layout and structure of word lines and bit lines must be considered as well, not just the capacitor" [3]. Samsung and SK hynix are still building 4F² [4]. The argument is over margins [the shortage](https://theinference.org/article/memory-is-eating-the-ai-boom) created: Micron [closed its fiscal fourth quarter on September 3 with an 86.8% gross margin on $54.2 billion of revenue](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000723125), up from 44.7% a year earlier, and CXMT printed 89.5% [5][6]. *Chart: **The shortage took Micron's gross margin from 44.7% to 86.8% in five quarters** Line chart of Micron's quarterly gross margin across twelve quarters, rising from below zero to 86.8%* *Quarterly gross margin, percent of revenue, Micron fiscal quarters mapped to calendar quarters; from Micron's SEC filings. [6]* ## The slowdown number, and the checkpoint CXMT's quarter was [118.7 billion yuan of revenue (about $18 billion), up 613% year on year](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/MU-Q/pressreleases/8578342/micron-s-chinese-rival-cxmt-just-grew-its-sales-more-than-sevenfold-i-d-buy-micron-stock-now/), with 54.4 billion yuan of net profit [2][3][5]. Sequential growth slowed to 19.3% from more than 90% in the second quarter, the first number to ask whether pricing is cresting; Morningstar's Jing Zhiwei expects stability rather than explosive growth [2][3]. CXMT ended September with about 285 billion yuan ($43 billion) of cash and holds 9.5% of global DRAM revenue, up from 7.6% in the first quarter, against Samsung's 39.4%, SK hynix's 24.9% and Micron's 23.3% [5][7][8]. If the samples qualify, server buyers gain a fourth supplier, and the incumbents' margins are what pays for it. *Chart: **CXMT's 9.5% of global DRAM revenue still trails the three incumbents** Bar chart of global DRAM revenue share in the second quarter of 2026, with Samsung at 39.4%, SK hynix 24.9%, Micron 23.3% and CXMT 9.5%* *Share of global DRAM revenue, Q2 2026, TrendForce estimates; CXMT up from 7.6% in Q1 2026. [7][8]* ## The other side has dates too Micron CEO [Sanjay Mehrotra](https://theinference.org/markets/people/sanjay-mehrotra) [expects memory to be much tighter in 2027 and 2028 than in 2026](https://www.heise.de/en/news/Micron-Memory-will-be-even-tighter-in-2027-than-in-2026-11473292.html), with 75% of 2027 output already allocated, and TrendForce, in [an assessment relayed by an industry roundup](https://note.com/izuku_idea/n/n59d9cd9cee7f), sees no full-scale 4F² commercialization before 2028 and no spot-price effect yet [8][9]. CXMT itself says the product "[cannot be entirely converted into immediate short-term profits](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?news_id=N1008825046)," with mass production paced by customer validation [2]. Micron fell 5.3% on October 30, the day CXMT reported, and trades near 12 times its $74.33 of fiscal 2026 earnings per share, about a quarter below its June record [5][7]. The market has already priced the boom's end; December 31 is the first date anyone can check it. ## Takeaway CXMT's sixth-generation 4F² DRAM passed engineering validation, and first DDR5 server samples reach customers by December 31: the first checkable test of the shortage economics behind Micron's 86.8% gross margin. ## Sources 1. [Global Times, CXMT completes engineering sample validation for sixth-generation DRAM technology platform based on 4F² architecture, 31 October 2026](https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1373367.shtml) 2. [SBS News, China's CXMT Verifies Prototype for 4F²-Based 6th-Gen DRAM, Eyes Gradual Mass Production, 1 November 2026](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?news_id=N1008825046) 3. [Seoul Economic Daily, China's CXMT Says It Has Validated 4F² DRAM Samples, 1 November 2026](https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/11/01/chinas-cxmt-says-it-has-validated-4f2-dram-samples) 4. [HotHardware, Why Micron Is Suddenly Ditching 4F² DRAM As Rivals Double Down, 22 October 2026](https://hothardware.com/news/why-micron-is-suddenly-ditching-4f-dram) 5. [The Globe and Mail (Motley Fool syndicated), Micron's Chinese Rival CXMT Just Grew Its Sales More Than Sevenfold. I'd Buy Micron Stock Now., 31 October 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/MU-Q/pressreleases/8578342/micron-s-chinese-rival-cxmt-just-grew-its-sales-more-than-sevenfold-i-d-buy-micron-stock-now/) 6. [Micron Technology quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 1 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000723125) 7. [The Motley Fool, Why Is Micron Stock Still Dropping?, 15 October 2026](https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/15/why-is-micron-stock-still-dropping/) 8. [Seizougyou (note.com), Memorandum: DRAM Manufacturers and New Product Trends, 21 October 2026](https://note.com/izuku_idea/n/n59d9cd9cee7f) 9. [heise online, Micron: Memory will be even tighter in 2027 than in 2026, 1 October 2026](https://www.heise.de/en/news/Micron-Memory-will-be-even-tighter-in-2027-than-in-2026-11473292.html) --- CXMT validates the DRAM design Micron abandoned, with server samples due December 31 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/cxmt-validates-the-dram-design-micron-abandoned-with-server-samples-due-december-31