Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL) blowout June-quarter earnings were packed with headlines about record iPhone sales and Apple Intelligence. But one of the most revealing comments came during the Q&A, when CEOTim Cookdescribed soaring memory prices as a "100-year flood" and suggested the DRAM industry needs more suppliers.
蘋果公司（納斯達克代碼：AAPL）公佈的6月季度業績表現驚豔，其中充斥著關於iPhone銷量創紀錄和Apple Intelligence的頭條新聞。但在問答環節中，最引人注目的評論之一來自首席執行長蒂姆·庫克，他將記憶體價格飆升形容為「百年一遇的洪水」，並暗示DRAM行業需要更多供應商。
The remarks offer a rare glimpse into how AI demand is reshaping one of the semiconductor industry's most concentrated markets.
這番言論罕見地揭示了人工智慧需求如何重塑半導體行業中集中度最高的市場之一。
• Apple shares are sliding. Why are AAPL shares down?
• 蘋果股價正在下跌。為何AAPL股價下跌？
Apple Says Memory Inflation Forced Price Increases
蘋果稱記憶體通膨迫使價格上漲
When asked about pricing, Cook said Apple had little choice but to pass along some of the higher costs.
當被問及定價問題時，Cook表示，蘋果別無選擇，只能將部分更高的成本轉嫁給消費者。
"We reluctantly raised prices," Cook said. "We did it because we're in what I would characterize as a 100-year flood on the memory pricing, with exponential increases in memory prices."
「我們不情願地提高了價格，」Cook表示，「之所以這麼做，是因為我們正經歷我所說的記憶體定價『百年一遇的洪水』，記憶體價格呈指數級上漲。」
Cook added that Apple expects those costs to climb further.
Cook補充稱，蘋果預計這些成本將進一步攀升。
"We expect to pay even higher memory costs," he said, noting that higher DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) prices are only being partially offset by lower costs for certain non-memory components and existing inventory purchased before prices surged.
「我們預計將支付更高的記憶體成本，」他表示，並指出DRAM（動態隨機存取記憶體）價格上漲僅被某些非記憶體組件成本下降以及在價格飆升前採購的現有庫存部分抵消。
Chief Financial OfficerKevan Parekhunderscored just how significant the issue has become. Without the impact of rising memory costs, Apple's gross margins would have been materially stronger, he said, adding that memory accounted for more than the entire sequential decline in adjusted gross margin between the March and June quarters and is expected to remain the biggest pressure point into September.
首席財務官Kevan Parekh強調了這一問題的嚴重性。他表示，若不考慮記憶體成本上漲的影響，蘋果的毛利率本會顯著更高；記憶體成本不僅佔了3月至6月季度經調整毛利率環比下降的全部，而且預計到9月仍將是最大的壓力來源。
Apple Hints the DRAM Market Needs More Competition
蘋果暗示DRAM市場需要更多競爭
Perhaps the most striking moment came when Cook was asked about Apple's sourcing strategy.
或許最引人注目的時刻出現在Cook被問及蘋果的採購策略時。
Rather than focusing on negotiations with existing suppliers, he pointed to the structure of the memory industry itself.
他並未聚焦於與現有供應商的談判，而是指出了記憶體行業本身的結構問題。
"Primarily the DRAM market has three suppliers," Cook said. "Obviously if there were more suppliers, that would be good, and it would help us on the supply side and perhaps the pricing side... We're evaluating all options."
Cook表示：「DRAM市場主要由三家供應商主導。顯然，如果有更多供應商，那將是一件好事，有助於我們在供應端，甚至可能在價格端……我們正在評估所有選項。」
The comments are notable because Apple rarely discusses supplier concentration publicly.
這些評論值得注意，因為蘋果很少公開討論供應商集中度的問題。
Today, the global DRAM market is dominated by three manufacturers:Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.(OTC:SSNLF),SK Hynix Inc.(NASDAQ:SKHY) andMicron Technology, Inc.(NASDAQ:MU). Demand for AI servers and high-bandwidth memory has tightened supply across the industry, giving memory makers significantly more pricing power than in previous cycles.
目前，全球DRAM市場由三家製造商主導：Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.（OTC:SSNLF）、SK Hynix Inc.（納斯達克:SKHY）和美光科技（納斯達克:MU）。人工智慧服務器和高帶寬記憶體的需求收緊了整個行業的供應，使記憶體製造商相比以往周期擁有了顯著更強的定價權。
Cook stopped short of outlining any plans to diversify Apple's supplier base, but his remarks suggest the company would welcome additional capacity if it became available.
Cook並未明確說明任何多元化蘋果供應商基礎的計劃，但他的言論表明，如果市場上出現額外產能，公司將持歡迎態度。
Memory Is Becoming AI's Next Bottleneck
記憶體正成為人工智慧發展的下一個瓶頸
Apple's comments point to a broader shift taking place across the semiconductor industry. While AI chips from companies like Nvidia have captured most of the attention, memory has become just as critical to running increasingly powerful AI models. That has tightened supply and pushed memory prices sharply higher across the industry.
蘋果的評論指向半導體行業正在發生的更廣泛轉變。儘管輝達等公司的人工智慧晶片吸引了大部分關注，但記憶體對於運行日益強大的人工智慧模型同樣關鍵。這導致供應趨緊，並推動整個行業的記憶體價格大幅上漲。
Cook's remarks suggest those higher costs are no longer affecting only memory makers. They are now influencing product pricing and weighing on profit margins even at Apple, one of the world's largest buyers of chips.
Cook的言論表明，這些更高的成本已不再僅僅影響記憶體製造商。它們現在甚至開始影響像蘋果這樣全球最大的晶片買家之一的產品定價，並對其利潤率構成壓力。
For investors, that's another sign that AI's memory suppliers remain in a position of unusual strength, as demand continues to outpace supply.
對投資者而言，這是另一個信號，表明在需求持續超過供應的情況下，人工智慧記憶體供應商仍處於異常強勢的地位。 (Benzinga)