Samsung's profit triples as Al demand pushes up memory chip prices

Samsung Electronics' quarterly profit more than tripled to a record high after global demand for AI servers sharply lifted memory chip prices.

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South Korea’s largest company reported a preliminary operating profit of 20 trillion won (S$17.7 billion) in the three months to December, up 208 per cent and beating the average analyst estimate. Revenue rose 23 per cent to 93 trillion won, also a record.

Memory makers like Samsung are diverting production away from everyday tech to build more lucrative high-end chips for AI giants like Nvidia amid a global rush to roll out massive data centres. That has created a severe shortage in standard memory for laptops and servers, causing prices for both DRAM and NAND to surge.

"Hyperscalers and cloud providers are buying a lot of DRAM, and they are willing to pay a price premium," said Mr Sanjeev Rana, head of research at CLSA Securities Korea.