Apple's China Sourcing Effort Falls Short for Now

SK Hynix stock price declined by about 20% since its year-to-date high, but experts say this drop may not be entirely due to Apple's reported interest in using Chinese DRAM from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).

Apple is one of the world's largest buyers of memory, and it has been testing CXMT's DRAM for potential use in devices. However, reports indicate that CXMT rejected Apple's request for cheaper DRAM and quoted prices comparable to or above those offered by Samsung and SK Hynix.

This means that Apple's China sourcing effort has not yet produced the price advantage it was seeking. But even if CXMT can't offer Apple a meaningful price discount, supply diversification itself has value in a tight memory market.