The surge in prices of memory chips and NAND flash used in SSDs is largely driven by AI companies, which are racing to build data centers around the world. In the process, they are effectively buying up all available memory chips on the market - at any price.
Naturally, there are also winners in this otherwise grim development. One of the biggest beneficiaries is Korean conglomerate Samsung, and particularly its electronics manufacturing arm, Samsung Electronics. For consumers, Samsung Electronics is best known for its smartphones and televisions - businesses that are also being hit hard by rising component costs.
But at the same time, Samsung Electronics is also the world's largest manufacturer of memory chips. The company itself has directly contributed to the current price surge by raising its own memory prices amid virtually unlimited demand.
At the same time, the actual cost of manufacturing memory chips has not meaningfully increased. In other words, the massive price hikes are effectively pure profit for the largest memory manufacturers.
And it shows.
Samsung Electronics has released its preliminary financial results for the first quarter, and based on those figures, the memory crisis has been a true goldmine for the company. According to early estimates, Samsung Electronics' revenue grew to 133 trillion won (appx. $90 billion) in the first quarter - but the most striking figure is the operating profit, which surged to 57.2 trillion won (appx. $39 billion).
The company's operating profit nearly increased eightfold compared to the same period last year. In fact, its first-quarter profit alone exceeded the company's total profit for the entire previous year. Samsung itself stated that AI-driven demand for memory chips was the primary reason behind the surge in profits - nearly 95 percent of its earnings came specifically from its semiconductor division.
Korean financial analysts estimate (in Korean) that Samsung could generate an astonishing 327 trillion won in operating profit for the full year 2026 - roughly $220 billion. According to the same estimates, 2027 could be even stronger, with Samsung Electronics potentially reaching as much as 488 trillion won in operating profit (appx. $330 billion).
If these projections prove accurate, Samsung Electronics would become the most profitable company in the world. For comparison, highly profitable Google parent company Alphabet generated appx. $129 billion in operating profit last year, while Apple reported about $133 billion in operating profit for its fiscal year 2025.
Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 8 Apr 2026 13:40
