Apple's New iPhone Is Going to Cost Significantly More Than Last Year. That's Great News for These 2 Potential Millionaire-Maker Stocks.

Next-generation iPhones are just around the corner, and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is expected to spend significantly more money to manufacture them this year.

Market research firm Counterpoint Research notes that the bill of materials (BOM) for the anticipated iPhone 18 Pro Max could increase by almost $300 compared with its predecessor. While the BOM of last year's model was around $500, the next-generation device could see that number rising to $800. The research firm adds that memory chips and the processor will be the biggest drivers of this cost increase.

Apple is likely to take a margin hit even if it decides to increase the prices of this year's models by $200, according to Counterpoint. It is easy to see why this Magnificent Seven company could absorb some of the costs rather than pass them on to customers. Apple's current iPhones have been highly popular, helping the company increase its market share by four percentage points year over year in Q2 2026 to 20%, according to Omdia.

Also, Apple has a large installed base of users on older iPhones, and it would want them to upgrade to its latest devices. So, it won't be surprising to see iPhone sales growing this year, even though the broader smartphone market struggles due to high component costs. That's great news for Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), two companies that could win big from Apple's higher costs and price hikes.

Image source: Getty Images.

Memory manufacturer Sandisk is poised for windfall gains from the new iPhones

The cost of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash storage will witness the biggest jump in the BOM of Apple's flagship smartphone this year. In fact, NAND flash will be the costliest component in the iPhone 18 Pro Max, according to Counterpoint.

That's great news for Sandisk, a pure-play NAND flash storage manufacturer. This growth stock has already shot up by a whopping 539% in 2026, as of this writing. Sandisk's multibagger performance has been fueled by a scarcity of NAND flash storage, which is being widely used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

The supply crunch has led to a sharp increase in NAND flash prices. Gartner predicts that NAND flash prices could jump by a whopping 234% in 2026, and not much respite is expected next year either, as demand will continue to overwhelm supply. It is worth noting that Sandisk is reportedly on the list of Apple's flash storage suppliers, and it is also the official manufacturer of external storage accessories for the tech giant.

Given that Apple's smartphone shipments increased by more than 6% in 2025 to almost 248 million, and it had a staggering 315 million users on iPhones that were at least four years old during the iPhone 17 launch, there is a good chance of the tech giant's shipments rising in 2026. So, Sandisk can take advantage of higher volumes and strong pricing, which should help it sustain its red-hot rally.

After all, Sandisk's earnings per share are expected to more than triple in the current fiscal year that has just started, and it trades at an attractive 25 times forward earnings. Importantly, Sandisk's earnings per share are projected to grow at an eye-popping pace over the long run.

Data by YCharts

The stunning earnings growth that Sandisk is poised to clock in the future could lead to phenomenal upside, making it an ideal investment for anyone looking to construct a million-dollar portfolio.

TSMC's next-generation process node is going to power Apple's upcoming iPhones

Apple taps Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, commonly known as TSMC, to manufacture the chips that power its iPhones. In fact, Apple is one of TSMC's biggest customers, along with Nvidia.

Counterpoint pointed out that Apple will use TSMC's latest 2-nanometer (nm) N2 process node to build the processor for the iPhone 18 series. This process node entered volume production in the fourth quarter of 2025, and TSMC is expanding production capacity for these chips. TSMC noted in its April earnings call that the N2 process node is witnessing "strong demand from both smartphone and HPC/AI applications."

What's worth noting is that TSMC's N2 node is reportedly sold out until 2028, suggesting that Apple may have cornered a significant share of this process node to build chips for its devices. Also, the N2 process node will reportedly carry a 20% to 30% premium over the 3nm process node, which Apple used to build the processors for last year's devices.

So, just like Sandisk, even TSMC could witness strong growth this year due to higher pricing and strong iPhone shipment volumes. The company's long-term earnings growth estimates have steadily ticked up over the past year, and that trend could continue given its solid pricing power.

Data by YCharts

TSMC is the largest semiconductor foundry in the world, with 73% market share. This puts it in a terrific position to capitalize on the semiconductor market's secular growth, which is why there is a solid chance that TSMC will become a multibagger by the end of the decade. Apple's upcoming iPhones could give TSMC's growth a nice boost, and its AI-focused customers should help it sustain solid growth over the long run.

As such, investors looking for a solid semiconductor stock to add to their potential million-dollar portfolios should take a closer look at TSMC before it jumps higher following respectable gains of 32% this year.

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.