Samsung Posts Record Profit, Forecasts AI Chip Crunch Until 2028

Samsung Electronics has signaled that the global shortage of high-end memory chips will persist for years, providing a bullish long-term outlook for the semiconductor industry despite recent market volatility. The South Korean giant reported a staggering 1,814% jump in second-quarter operating profit, driven primarily by insatiable demand for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) and DDR5 chips used in AI servers. Samsung executives noted that the memory crunch is likely to last until 2028 as the infrastructure for generative AI continues to expand globally.

To meet this demand, Samsung is aggressively expanding its manufacturing footprint, including new fabrication plants in Pyeongtaek. This strategic push comes as the company achieves all-time high DRAM and NAND sales. The optimistic outlook from Samsung, combined with a multiyear, $500 billion supply deal between Nvidia and SK Hynix, suggests that the "silicon" remains the most critical bottleneck in the AI race. Analysts believe this extended shortage will keep pricing power firmly in the hands of the major memory producers for the foreseeable future.