Samsung Electronics warned investors on its second‑quarter earnings call that the worldwide shortage of DRAM memory will tighten further in 2027 and remain acute through at least 2028. The company, which manufactures roughly one‑third of the planet’s RAM chips, said the surge in demand from frontier artificial‑intelligence labs is forcing it to prioritize customers that sign multi‑year contracts.
AI researchers, eager to secure the memory needed for large‑scale models, have begun sharing medium‑ to long‑term demand forecasts directly with Samsung. Those forecasts give the Korean giant the visibility it needs to plan new equipment installations and boost production without fearing a sudden drop in orders. Samsung hopes the approach will help it sidestep the boom‑and‑bust cycles that have haunted the memory market for years.
Rising demand has already lifted DRAM prices, a trend that benefits Samsung’s semiconductor division. The unit posted an all‑time‑high sales figure for the quarter, buoyed by higher‑priced chips sold to data‑center operators. That upside, however, comes at a cost for the company’s consumer businesses. The surge in component costs has squeezed profit margins in Samsung’s smartphone and TV segments, prompting the firm to raise prices on its Galaxy phones and tablets.
Higher retail prices have begun to bite. Samsung reported a dip in demand for its flagship devices after the price hikes, a development that underscores how the memory crunch is rippling through the broader consumer electronics market.
The shortage, informally dubbed “RAMaggedon,” has already forced rivals to adjust pricing. Apple raised the list prices of its MacBook laptops, iMac desktops and iPad tablets last month, citing increased component costs. In its own earnings outlook, Apple warned that revenue growth for the upcoming quarter is expected to slow to between 9% and 11% year‑over‑year, down from the 16% growth recorded in the prior quarter.
Manufacturers are shifting production capacity toward AI data‑center workloads and away from traditional consumer gadgets. That reallocation means fewer chips are available for smartphones, laptops and gaming hardware, tightening supply and pushing up prices across the board.
Nvidia, a key supplier of graphics processors for gaming PCs, signaled it will raise consumer graphics‑card prices by 20% to 30% later this year. Analysts predict the increase will cascade into higher costs for gaming consoles, desktop computers and laptops that rely on Nvidia’s GPUs.
Industry observers say the prolonged shortage could reshape the competitive landscape. Companies that can lock in long‑term memory contracts may gain a pricing advantage, while those that cannot could see margins erode further. Samsung’s strategy of securing demand forecasts and expanding capacity aims to lock in a steady revenue stream, but the broader market will likely feel the impact of higher device prices for months to come.
Este artículo fue escrito con la asistencia de IA.
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