Samsung has warned that the global shortage of memory chips is likely to become more severe in 2027, even as the company benefits strongly from rising prices and demand. The warning matters because constrained supplies of DRAM and NAND memory could keep increasing costs for PCs, phones, servers and other electronics, while boosting chipmakers’ profits.

The company attributed the expected shortfall to rapid AI-related demand, particularly from data centres, alongside the long lead times needed to expand manufacturing capacity. Samsung reported record quarterly earnings, with chip division profit rising 49-fold, and said the gap between supply and demand next year could be wider than in 2026. Its customers are already securing supply in advance, underlining the pressure across the memory market.