Jul 31, 2026
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Add us on GoogleOver the past year, the memory chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) turned from a cash drainer into China’s biggest AI gainer.
According to Financial Times, this hi-tech firm based in the Chinese city of Hefei was operating at a loss of about $5 billion for the past ten years. But thanks to all the demand for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) at AI data centers, CXMT’s recent fortunes changed in a big way.
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The New York Times reported that CXMT’s revenues exploded 700% between 2025 and 2026, reaching $7.5 billion in Q1 2026 alone.
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With such dramatic growth, it’s only natural that Chinese investors would go crazy for this semiconductor superstar — and that’s exactly what happened when it listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Initially, CXMT was priced at 8.66 yuan ($1.28 USD) per share on July 27, which already valued it at $80 billion according to Counterpoint Research. Once CXMT closed its first day of trading, it surged to a closing price of 49 yuan.
Even though this price gives CXMT an eye-popping price-to-earnings ratio of over 1,600, some analysts think the bull run is only beginning. As Financial Times reported, the firm Nomura says its price target for CXMT is 116 yuan, implying about 135% upside from today’s prices.
Can CXMT control the memory market?
While some investors were cheering for CXMT’s market debut, AI investors betting on Korean or U.S.-based manufacturers weren’t so happy. The three leaders in the AI memory game — SK Hynix [NASDAQ:SKHY], Samsung, and Micron [NASDAQ:MU] — all posted declines in reaction to CXMT’s competitive threat.
Between 2025 and 2026, Counterpoint Research noted that CXMT grew from 3% to 8% of the global market share for memory chips. While that’s still behind the three big dogs of DRAM, Counterpoint’s analysts believe it has a real chance to break into the upper echelon — provided it can work its way into “a minimum around one-sixth of the DRAM market.”
But there are challenges to CXMT’s growth goals. For instance, Reuters pointed out that CXMT faces export controls from the U.S. that limit its ability to get equipment to break into the lucrative high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips game.
On the downside, that stunts CXMT’s technological development. However, some argue this negative could become CXMT’s strength.
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Counterpoint Research suggested CXMT’s limited access to high-powered manufacturing units could make it focus on creating more innovative technologies. As Counterpoint’s VP of Research Neil Shah put it, “The irony here is that actually limiting CXMT could help it leapfrog ahead of the incumbents who are likely to delay such innovations to protect returns on existing equipment.”
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Even Apple has ‘CXMT FOMO’
If Apple [NASDAQ:AAPL] has its way, CXMT chips could soon find their way into MacBooks
According to Bloomberg, Apple has reportedly been in talks with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to partner with CXMT and another Chinese manufacturer, Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC), for its memory chip needs.
Likely, the hope is that memory chips from these Chinese suppliers would be cheaper and help Apple keep the costs of its products down. Reuters reported that Apple announced an increase in the prices of its iPads and MacBooks due to memory chip constraints.
While it’s clear Apple wants to work more closely with Chinese memory chipmakers, U.S. lawmakers are doing everything they can to stop it.
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On July 16, Chairman John Moolenaar of the House Select Committee on China and Congressman George Whitesides sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick explicitly laying out this concern, saying, “We are alarmed that Apple and other U.S. tech companies seek to purchase memory from Chinese semiconductor manufacturers, including those with ties to the Chinese military.”
To prevent the threat posed by companies like CXMT, the lawmakers suggested adding CXMT to the U.S. export control list (aka the “Entity List”) at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). They also recommended issuing an “executive order” or “agency directive” to stop U.S. companies from buying DRAM from the likes of CXMT and YMTC.
More recently, Bloomberg reported on a bipartisan letter from U.S. senators to Apple’s outgoing CEO Tim Cook, urging the company to steer clear of Chinese memory manufacturers. As the senators warned, “The precedent Apple would set by addressing the memory shortage this way would shape the memory market and this country’s security for years after supply has returned to normal, and we urge you to weigh that carefully.”
Although Apple’s stock briefly fell after announcing the price hike for some of its products, it has since reclaimed its status as the world’s most valuable company.
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Eric Esposito is a freelance contributor on MoneyWise who loves making financial topics accessible and understandable to readers. In addition to MoneyWise, Eric’s work can be found in publications such as WallStreetZen and CoinDesk.
