It’s a year to look forward to for Samsung as its profits are expected to hit an all-time high, exceeding its total earnings from the last 40 years since entering the semiconductor business. It is a major win for the Korean tech giant, but no less a sting for consumers as RAM prices surge beyond control.
During a recent town hall, Kim Yong-Kwan, President of Corporate Management, Strategy, and Operations for Samsung’s Device Solutions division, said that Samsung’s 2026 profits are expected to hit roughly US$200 billion (~RM814 billion), underscoring the massive surge in memory demand driven by the AI industry.
Being one of the three major companies in the memory industry, the AI-driven memory chip boom pushed Samsung to the forefront of the semiconductor industry. The increase is largely due to record demand for AI memory chips, which play a crucial role in powering the advanced components that enable AI models to become faster, more capable, and increasingly sophisticated. As AI systems and data centres demand more high-bandwidth memory, Samsung’s early push into the market solidified their position as a leading supplier.
With preliminary Q1 results already going beyond expectations, the full-year projection could very well cement Samsung’s status among tech giants like Apple and NVIDIA. Should this wave of unprecedented success continue throughout the year, Samsung could achieve a feat rarely seen in the industry, potentially reshaping the balance of power among the world’s biggest tech companies.
Samsung’s rise highlights the power of AI demand, but it also shows who gets to benefit most from this new era of technology, as consumers are left to deal with the ripple effects. Having said that, the company is expected to reveal its preliminary Q2 earnings on July 7th, with the final numbers set to be confirmed at the end of this month.
Natrisha contributed to this article.
