In Samsung’s full earnings report released on April 30, 2026, the company’s memory chief Kim Jaejune warned that “significant shortages” across memory products are expected to continue through at least 2027. According to the company, demand fulfillment rates have fallen to record lows as customers rush to secure future supply, SCMP reports. The warning closely mirrors comments made by “rival” SK Hynix during its earnings call just a week earlier.
Together with US-based Micron Technology, Samsung and SK hynix control well over 90% of the global DRAM market. When two of the world’s three biggest memory suppliers simultaneously warn of multi-year shortages, it wouldn’t be too out of place to worry.
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Samsung’s semiconductor division posted 53.7 trillion won ($36.1 billion) in operating profit during the first quarter of 2026, accounting for roughly 94% of the company’s total quarterly profit as soaring AI memory demand drove record sales. Meanwhile, SK hynix reported record quarterly revenue of 52.6 trillion won ($35.5 billion), and operating profit of 37.6 trillion won ($27.8 billion), fueled largely by booming HBM sales for AI infrastructure.
To address the crisis, the companies are aggressively expanding production capacity and increasing investment in advanced packaging and memory fabrication. According to the Korea Times, recent regulatory filings show that Samsung Electronics invested 465.4 billion won in its Xi’an memory chip plant in 2025, a 67.5% year-over-year increase. SK hynix also significantly increased spending, investing 581.1 billion won into its Wuxi facilities and 440.6 billion won into its Dalian operations.
GPU shortages have already become severe across parts of the industry. Earlier this month, we reported Intel’s confirmation that extreme demand had become so intense that customers were even buying chips that might previously have been discarded or treated as low-value products.
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