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Samsung expects record third-quarter operating profit of about $80 billion, driven by AI demand for memory chips. Micron, its US rival, gains from the same shortage. The cost lands on PC makers such as HP, who must pay more for the memory in every machine.
Source: MarketWatch ↗
Samsung guided third-quarter operating profit of about 107.4 trillion won, roughly $80 billion. That is about nine times a year earlier and its fourth record quarter in a row. The driver is memory chips for AI data centres. Micron Technology (MU), the main US memory maker, sells into the same shortage. In the quarter to Sept 3, reported on Sept 30, its revenue rose to $54.2 billion from $11.3 billion a year earlier, more than four times as much, and it forecast about $61.5 billion for the current quarter. The shortage has pushed Samsung and others to raise chip prices, making PCs and phones more expensive. Price rises slowed in the third quarter, so this is continuing pressure rather than a new jump. HP Inc. (HPQ) says memory and storage now make up about 35% of the parts cost of a PC, up from 15–18% in late 2025, and expects that share to keep rising. Its PC revenue rose 18% in the quarter to July 31 even though units fell 16%, so higher prices are doing the work. HP expects PC margins to hit their low in the quarter to Oct 31.
HP may be able to pass higher memory costs on to buyers through higher PC prices without losing sales. HP has already said PC margins will dip in the quarter to Oct 31 and then recover in fiscal 2027. If they recover on schedule, the squeeze is being passed on. Samsung's full results at the end of October also matter. If they show memory price rises slowing, the cost pressure on PC makers would ease.
Higher memory prices also mean pricier PCs across the industry, so HP's rivals face the same costs and none loses ground. HP is already passing costs on: its PC revenue rose 18% in the quarter to July 31 while units fell 16%, and it raised its full-year profit forecast. The risk is volume, since HP plans for industry PC sales to fall by mid-single digits in 2027. Memory prices also fell sharply from late 2018 after the last boom. A similar turn would lift the pressure on PC makers and hurt Micron.
In the 2017 to 2018 memory boom, chip prices soared and Samsung and SK Hynix posted record profits. Micron's profits surged and PC and phone makers' costs rose. Memory prices started falling in late 2018 and kept falling through 2019. Micron's shares fell 23% in 2018.
AI data centres buy so much memory that Samsung posts a record profit of about $80 billion, and Micron gains from the same shortage and higher prices.
Memory makers raise chip prices, so companies that build PCs pay more for the memory inside each machine.
HP, which depends on PCs and printers, could see its margins squeezed unless it can raise prices.
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