Record $425 billion chip quarter points to higher prices for phones, PCs and consoles

The memory boom feeding artificial intelligence is starting to show up in the cost of anything with a chip inside it.

Global semiconductor revenue reached a record $425 billion in the second quarter, a 31.4 percent jump from the first quarter that took the first half of 2026 to $752 billion, according to research firm Omdia. Memory chips alone accounted for more than half of all semiconductor revenue in the quarter, with DRAM, NAND and NOR each posting their strongest sequential second-quarter growth since Omdia began tracking the market in 2002. Omdia expects revenue to pass $500 billion in the third quarter, which would lift the first nine months above $1.25 trillion. Higher chip prices feed through to manufacturers' costs, and phones, PCs and game consoles are where shoppers are most likely to feel it.