Micron executives have recently effectively pointed to large customers' long-term purchase contracts and strong price bargaining power as factors behind the memory supply shortage. They did not directly name any company, but the industry is interpreting the remarks as aimed at Apple's purchasing strategy.

According to IT outlet 9to5Mac on June 25, Sumit Sadana (수밋 사다나), Micron's chief business officer, said in a recent interview that memory prices staying low for a long period made it difficult for suppliers to expand production capacity.

The remarks came shortly after Apple raised prices for some products such as MacBooks and iPads. Tim Cook (팀 쿡), Apple's chief executive, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the recent memory shortage was one of the main reasons behind the price increases.

Apple has been seen as a representative company that has secured memory stably at relatively low prices through long-term purchase contracts. The view is that by signing long-term contracts with suppliers on the back of its large purchasing power, Apple has faced relatively less cost pressure even during periods of rising memory prices.

Micron, however, sees this structure as one of the causes of the current supply crunch. Sadana suggested that as low prices persisted for a long time, suppliers lost incentives to invest aggressively in expanding production facilities. If sufficient profitability is not secured, it is difficult to increase capacity, he said, and supply shortages could worsen when demand later surges.

Micron has posted results that beat market expectations on the back of strong memory prices. Fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 346 percent from a year earlier, and gross margin approached 85 percent. Its fourth-quarter outlook also exceeded market expectations, sending shares up about 15 percent in after-hours trading after the announcement, and the stock extended gains the next trading day.

The market is also focusing on the fact that Apple and Micron are offering different explanations for the same memory shortage. Apple said the current shortage has led to product price increases, while Micron's stance is that prolonged price pressure weakened suppliers' ability to invest and amplified today's supply crunch.

The industry says the debate could also affect contract structures in the memory sector. Large customers can manage costs stably through long-term contracts, but if suppliers' profitability falls too low, investment in production facilities and supply expansion can be delayed. In particular, with demand for AI servers and high-performance computing rising quickly, there is a view that such contract structures could also affect supply-demand stability across the overall memory market.

The market is watching how long-term purchase contract structures between large customers and chipmakers will change, along with the pace of future memory supply expansion. With memory demand continuing to rise in the AI era, interest is also growing in whether new contract models could emerge that secure both price competitiveness and stable supply.