Samsung’s latest earnings call was a rollercoaster ride, revealing stellar results fueled by its memory business, alongside the first-ever loss for its mobile division due to rising costs.
As PCMag reports, during the call, Samsung made it clear that the company doesn’t expect the RAM crisis to improve anytime soon, given the long production times for memory technology. Jaejune Kim, head of sales and marketing for memory, said the company expects supply limits to become “more severe in 2027 than 2026.”
“We believe it will be unlikely to see any significant increase in incremental supply through 2028,” he added. “Based on the incoming requests that we have been seeing from the customers, unmet demand from this year is likely to carry over into the following year, contributing to tighter supply conditions going forward.”
This uncertainty and the lack of accessible components may continue to drive up component prices. It’s fueled by demand from AI data centers paired with long production time for memory, which Kim says “exceeds three years.”
Samsung’s statements match those of its rival, SK Hynix, whose CEO recently predicted that 2027 will be “the worst year in the industry’s history from the supply perspective.” Kim also suggested problems may continue for years to come. “Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility,” he said, adding that many AI-focused businesses are working with Samsung to negotiate multi-year supply agreements.
Samsung’s mobile business, meanwhile, is suffering amid rising component prices. It has begun passing rising costs on to customers by raising some prices, but Samsung predicts production costs will continue to rise through the second half of this year.
To weather the storm, Samsung confirmed it would focus on its current products alongside plans for a Galaxy Tab S12 tablet and a Galaxy S26 FE smartphone. This is the first confirmation of both new devices, but no other details were shared. Samsung also plans to launch its new intelligent eyewear smart glasses before the end of this year, meaning there are at least three new products set to arrive in the next five months.
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