Why memory chip costs are forcing Amazon and Qualcomm to raise spending forecasts

A global shortage of memory chips is forcing major tech firms to rewrite their capital spending plans and accept higher input costs. Amazon's jump to a $220 billion 2026 capex forecast signals how acutely the crunch is hitting the industry's infrastructure layer, and the pressure is rippling across chipmakers and their customers alike.

The tension cuts both ways: AWS achieved 37% year-over-year sales growth, besting analyst expectations of 31% expansion. Yet that momentum masks a cost squeeze that is now unavoidable. Qualcomm's leadership acknowledged the bind plainly, stating that "cost went up, prices are going to go up" as the company issued cautious earnings guidance tied directly to memory scarcity. According to CNBC and kedglobal.com reports, chipmakers are passing expenses downstream while buyers absorb the hit.

Memory suppliers themselves are thriving. SK Hynix shares surged 25% and Samsung jumped more than 20% as South Korea's Kospi posted a record daily gain, reflecting investor confidence that the shortage will sustain pricing power. The rally signals that scarcity is likely to persist long enough to support margin expansion at the chip level.

The crunch reveals a structural mismatch: demand for AI infrastructure is outrunning supply of the memory chips that power it. Amazon's decision to spend more while expanding cloud revenue at the announced pace shows that big tech will pay to secure capacity rather than forgo growth. For end-users and smaller competitors without Amazon's balance sheet, the calculus is far tighter. Memory prices are no longer a background cost; they are now a strategic constraint reshaping tech industry spending and competitive dynamics.