Samsung Semiconductor Profit Could Break Historic Records in 2026 as Memory Chip Prices Surge
Samsung Electronics may be heading toward one of the most extraordinary profit years in its history, driven by booming demand for memory chips and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
According to remarks reportedly made during a recent internal town hall meeting, Kim Yong-kwan, President and Head of Business Strategy at Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions division, said the semiconductor business is on track to meet market expectations for operating profit this year. Those expectations are exceptionally high, with analysts projecting annual operating profit of around 300 trillion won, or approximately $200 billion.
The most striking part of the statement was the comparison to Samsung’s long-term semiconductor history. Kim reportedly suggested that Samsung’s profit in 2026 could exceed the total profit generated over roughly four decades since the company entered the chip business. If achieved, that would mark a stunning milestone for one of the world’s largest technology companies.
The timing is important. Samsung is preparing to release its preliminary financial results for the second quarter of 2026, and investors are watching closely for signs that the memory market boom is continuing. The company’s semiconductor division has become central to the global AI supply chain, especially as demand for DRAM, NAND, high-bandwidth memory, and enterprise storage remains elevated.
A major factor behind Samsung’s expected profit surge is the sharp rise in memory chip prices. The company is reportedly negotiating with commodity DRAM customers to raise prices by as much as 20 percent quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter of 2026.
That would follow two already significant rounds of increases. Samsung reportedly raised commodity DRAM prices by around 90 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with fourth-quarter 2025 reference prices, then followed with another sequential increase of 50 to 60 percent in the second quarter.
Mobile memory has also seen dramatic pricing pressure. LPDDR5X 12GB contract prices, which had already risen sharply since early 2025, were reportedly around $120 toward the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter of 2026. More recently, those prices are said to have climbed to roughly $145 per unit, reflecting an increase of $68.8 since the beginning of the year.
Samsung is also expected to report approximately 84.5994 trillion won, or about $55.1 billion, in operating profit for the second quarter of 2026. If the company reaches that figure, it could surpass NVIDIA’s previously reported quarterly operating profit of $53.54 billion, potentially making Samsung the most profitable company in the world for that period.
The broader memory market remains heavily influenced by AI demand. Data centers, cloud providers, and enterprise customers continue to require larger volumes of advanced memory products, including high-bandwidth memory for AI accelerators and enterprise SSDs for massive storage workloads. This demand has tightened supply and given leading memory producers stronger pricing power.
Samsung and SK hynix are also part of a massive long-term memory chip expansion effort valued at around 800 trillion won. However, meaningful production from that planned capacity is not expected until around 2033. As a result, the new supply is unlikely to ease current market tightness in the near term.
That delay is important for the memory chip industry. If AI-related demand remains strong and additional capacity takes years to arrive, elevated DRAM and NAND prices could persist for an extended period. This environment would continue to benefit major memory manufacturers, particularly companies with advanced production capabilities and exposure to high-performance computing markets.
For Samsung, 2026 could become a defining year. After enduring previous downturns in the memory cycle, the company now appears positioned to benefit from one of the strongest upswings the industry has ever seen. With AI infrastructure spending still accelerating and memory prices rising sharply, Samsung’s semiconductor business could deliver profits on a scale rarely seen in the global technology sector.
