Samsung projects record quarterly profit driven by AI-fuelled memory chip boom

Samsung Electronics forecasts a three-fold increase in Q4 operating profit to about ₩20 trillion, amid surging demand for memory chips driven by AI infrastructure expansion, marking a new quarterly high and reshaping industry dynamics.

Samsung Electronics on Thursday projected a three-fold jump in operating profit for the October–December quarter to about ₩20 trillion, a new quarterly record that eclipses its previous high from 2018, driven largely by surging prices for conventional memory chips and tight supply conditions, according to Reuters. Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, told reporters at CES that “The world is going to need more fabs and the reason for that is because of this new industry called AI factories”, underscoring how AI demand has tightened wafer-level capacity and pricing. ^[1]

Industry data and market trackers show the scale of the shift: DRAM contract prices surged sharply year‑on‑year in late 2025 and are forecast to climb further as cloud and AI infrastructure investment expands. According to TechRadar, DRAM contract prices rose about 313% year‑on‑year in the fourth quarter, with TrendForce and other trackers projecting another 55–60% rise in the following quarter, a dynamic that has lifted revenue expectations across chipmakers. ^[2]

Analysts and brokerage notes cited by Reuters and Investing.com estimate Samsung’s semiconductor division will provide the lion’s share of the anticipated profit, with chip sales contributing roughly ₩17 trillion of the quarter’s operating profit. Investing.com also reported that some research groups see memory prices jumping 40–50% in late 2025, with further increases expected into early 2026, reinforcing the view that undersupply may persist as fabs race to add capacity. ^[6][1]

The price spike is already prompting strategic shifts across the industry. TechCrunch reported that Samsung has been accelerating production of high‑bandwidth memory and other AI‑oriented products, a move mirrored by rivals SK Hynix and Micron, which are expanding capacity to service both hyperscalers and traditional consumer markets. Industry commentary suggests vendors are prioritising higher‑margin HBM and DDR5 products used in AI servers as cloud providers and chip customers place large, sustained orders. ^[4]

That reorientation carries cross‑sector consequences. The Associated Press noted Samsung’s semiconductor recovery in early 2024 helped lift overall revenue, but warned that elevated memory costs are filtering into consumer electronics; Samsung executives at CES acknowledged that some price increases for phones, TVs and appliances are “inevitable” if component costs remain high. PC Gamer and other outlets have similarly warned that the so‑called “memory apocalypse” could push up the cost of upgrades for PCs and servers, with server memory and DRAM price hikes of up to 60–70% cited by industry sources for early 2026. ^[5][3]

Investors have rewarded the outlook: Samsung shares have rallied strongly over the past year, reaching record highs as markets price in sustained AI‑led memory demand, though some analysts caution that persistently high component prices could temper end‑market volumes and margins for device makers. DB Securities and other analysts cited in Reuters expect mobile division profits to face headwinds from rising component costs even as display and other divisions benefit from product cycles. ^[1]

Samsung plans to release detailed fourth‑quarter results, including a business‑by‑business breakdown, on January 29, when analysts will test whether rising memory revenue will fully offset any slowing in device sales and how durable the current pricing cycle proves as fabs expand capacity and supply eventually catches up. Market watchers say the coming quarters will be decisive in determining whether the current price surge becomes a sustained structural shift or a cyclical peak. ^[1][2][6]

📌 Reference Map:

##Reference Map:

• ^[1] (Reuters/TechCentral) – Paragraph 1, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 6, Paragraph 7
• ^[2] (TechRadar) – Paragraph 2, Paragraph 7
• ^[3] (PC Gamer) – Paragraph 5
• ^[4] (TechCrunch) – Paragraph 4
• ^[5] (Associated Press) – Paragraph 5
• ^[6] (Investing.com) – Paragraph 3, Paragraph 7

Source: Noah Wire Services