Observed Signal · Jul 30, 2026 · Earnings Report · Source: Manager Magazin · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Samsung forecasts chip shortage through 2028
Samsung expects the global chip shortage to worsen into 2028, the head of its memory division said when presenting quarterly results. The semiconductor unit reported an operating profit of 89.2 trillion won (~€54 billion) in Q2, more than 250 times the same quarter in 2025, driven by AI demand. Samsung has signed long-term supply contracts with the five largest datacenter operators and is close to agreements with five more; these deals run at least five years, would cover 60–70% of capacity and include prepayments and price floors. Samsung's mobile division recorded a first-ever quarterly loss of 700 billion won. Samsung aims to increase HBM4 revenue more than threefold in Q3 and expects its Texas fab in Taylor to come online on schedule.
Quarterly results from a major semiconductor company showing massive AI-driven profits, long-term supply deals and forecasts of multi-year chip shortages materially affect technology supply chains, datacenter operators and capital markets.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Samsung's memory division reported an operating profit of 89.2 trillion won (~€54 billion) in Q2.
- Samsung expects the global chip shortage to intensify through 2028 and for the bottleneck to worsen in 2027 versus this year.
- Samsung signed long-term supply contracts with the five largest datacenter operators; agreements cover at least five years, 60–70% of capacity, include prepayments and price floors, and five additional large-customer deals are nearing completion.
- Samsung's mobile division posted a quarterly loss of 700 billion won — the first quarterly loss in that division's history.
- The three major memory players SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron have lost more than $1.5 trillion in market value combined during the correction.
Connected Companies & Entities
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“The three big players SK Hynix and Samsung from South Korea and Micron from the USA have together already lost more than $1.5 trillion in ma...”
“In foundry, the South Koreans compete with TSMC and Intel....”
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Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
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Samsung: RAM Shortage to Worsen Through 2027
Samsung warned on its Q2 earnings call that the global RAM shortage will likely intensify in 2027 and remain tight until at least 2028. The company, which produces roughly a third of the world’s memory chips, said frontier AI labs are sharing medium- to long-term demand forecasts to secure supply, enabling Samsung to prioritise customers that sign long-term contracts and plan multi-year capacity ramps. Higher memory demand has pushed chip prices up, lifting Samsung’s semiconductor sales while squeezing margins in its smartphone and TV units. The shortage has prompted device price increases from Samsung and Apple and may lead to higher GPU prices from Nvidia, as memory makers shift capacity toward AI data centers.
Samsung Warns Memory Crunch Will Worsen Into 2027
Samsung's memory division warned that surging demand and pre-orders are deepening a memory chip and storage shortage that could extend into 2027, constraining supply and raising costs for AI infrastructure buildouts. Executives from Samsung, Apple and Alphabet highlighted memory cost pressures during recent earnings calls; Meta has reportedly extended server lifecycles due to shortages. Wall Street sees the supply squeeze as a tailwind for chip and storage vendors — notably Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Sandisk, Seagate and Western Digital — and analysts expect increased capital expenditure and memory-equipment demand as hyperscalers expand AI capacity. Analysts from Wolfe Research, Bernstein, Melius and JPMorgan cited elevated memory average selling prices, testing-equipment upside, and persistent supply-demand gaps as drivers for sector revenues and investor interest.
Samsung Q1 Profit Surges on AI Memory Chip Demand
Samsung Electronics reported record first-quarter results driven by booming demand for AI-linked memory chips. For Q1 2026 the company posted revenue of 133.9 trillion won and operating profit of 57.2 trillion won, beating LSEG SmartEstimate and Samsung’s prior guidance. Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) division — its chip business — recorded an operating profit of 53.7 trillion won and revenue of 81.7 trillion won, driven by high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand and industry-wide memory price increases amid constrained supply. Samsung said server memory demand should remain strong into the second half as hyperscalers scale AI and agentic AI adoption accelerates. The company has begun shipping commercial HBM4 chips; however, SK Hynix remains a leading HBM vendor, holding an estimated 57% revenue share in the latest quarter per Counterpoint Research.
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