What it’s essential to know
- Samsung’s earnings practically tripled in This autumn 2025, fueled by AI-driven demand for reminiscence chips, delivering KRW 20.1 trillion in revenue on KRW 93.8 trillion in income.
- Samsung is promoting fewer chips total however making considerably more cash by prioritizing high-priced AI reminiscence over commonplace shopper chips.
- The corporate’s 2026 roadmap prioritizes superior HBM, AI SSDs, and a shift to a 2nd-gen 2nm course of in its foundry, with the upcoming Galaxy S26 being the buyer face of this, pushing agentic AI options.
Samsung’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 outcomes confirmed its working revenue practically tripled from final 12 months. Robust demand and better costs for reminiscence chips utilized in AI drove this development, with the corporate incomes KRW 20.1 trillion (about $14 billion) in revenue on KRW 93.8 trillion (about $66 billion) in income, making it certainly one of its finest quarters ever.
What’s modified this time is that AI’s rising demand for reminiscence is making provide tighter and pushing up costs for DRAM, NAND, and high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM). As a substitute of promoting extra gadgets, Samsung Machine Options is promoting fewer however costlier reminiscence chips. These now account for many of its earnings.
A fast take a look at reminiscence economics: Chips for AI servers, particularly HBM in information facilities, use extra wafer capability. This leaves much less room for making shopper RAM for PCs and telephones. Consequently, provide is tighter, and costs are increased. It is a typical supply-and-demand squeeze, very similar to the broader 2024 to 2026 reminiscence scarcity.
Consequently, Samsung’s This autumn reminiscence revenue grew greater than 5 occasions in comparison with final 12 months, far outpacing development in smartphones and shows. In these areas, revenue margins shrank as reminiscence prices rose.
Costs aren’t coming down quickly
Analysts on Samsung’s earnings name highlighted this modification. Kim Jae-june, a reminiscence chip govt at Samsung, stated that reminiscence costs are nonetheless excessive and can seemingly keep that manner, whilst Samsung will increase manufacturing of its next-generation HBM4 chips, that are anticipated to launch in giant numbers in early 2026. This matches what the business is seeing: reminiscence costs ought to stay robust till provide will increase.
Smartphones and shows, which was Samsung’s prime shopper merchandise, are actually dealing with challenges. Cellular earnings are down as a result of increased chip costs have raised manufacturing prices.
Trying forward, Samsung needs to maintain its momentum going. In 2026, the corporate plans to strengthen its management in AI by launching next-generation HBM4 merchandise, together with a prime business model, and increasing AI-related NAND options like high-performance SSDs. The foundry goals for double-digit income development because it strikes to a second-generation 2nm course of. For cellular, the upcoming Galaxy S26 will give attention to advancing AI smartphone management with new agentic AI options.
Android Central’s Take
What does this record-breaking chip growth imply for you? It’s a blended bag. On one facet, Samsung’s huge earnings and funding in analysis are driving the subsequent wave of innovation — sooner AI telephones, extra environment friendly laptops, and highly effective information facilities for brand new apps and providers. We’re already seeing this with HBM4 and 2nm chips.
However, the AI-driven chip scarcity means costs for high-end gadgets could keep excessive, and the very best parts could possibly be more durable to search out. Samsung’s success reveals that the primary competitors in AI is going on in chip factories, and its present lead means future gadgets might be formed by its know-how. For now, Samsung is forward within the AI reminiscence race.
