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Citi forecasts record Q1 2026 profit for Samsung Electronics amid massive memory price surge
Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 05:52 AM
Citi analysts have significantly increased their price target for Samsung Electronics, forecasting a record-breaking operating profit of 51 trillion KRW for Q1 2026. This optimism is driven by a massive projected surge in memory market prices, with global DRAM and NAND average selling prices expected to rise by 190% and 172% year-over-year respectively in 2026.
Context
Citi has issued a highly bullish forecast for Samsung Electronics, raising its price target to KRW 300,000 following a massive surge in memory pricing. Analysts expect the company to post a market-high operating profit of KRW 51 trillion ($33.62 billion) for Q1 2026. This optimism is driven by a structural supply shortage in the commodity memory market, fueled by the rapid proliferation of AI agents and a spike in AI CPU memory requirements.
The report significantly raises 2026 global price forecasts, with DRAM and NAND average selling prices (ASP) now expected to jump 190% and 172% year-over-year, respectively. Specifically, server DRAM is projected to skyrocket as both AI training and inference demand strain existing capacity. With pricing power shifting decisively toward sellers, Samsung is positioned to capture record margins as the memory industry sheds its traditional cyclical label in favor of an AI-driven super-cycle.
Sources (10)
Investor Relations │ Samsung | Samsung Electronics Nears 40 Trillion Won in Q1 Operating Profit as DRAM Prices Surge Tenfold - Seoul Economic DailyMemory crisis latest: What we learned from the world's top producersSamsung and SK Hynix boost China factory investments in 2025 amid memory demand surgeSamsung electronics reports 2025 capital expenditure of KRW 52.7 ...High Performance Computing: 6th Latin American Conference, CARLA 2019, Turrialba, Costa Rica, September 25–27, 2019, Revised Selected Papers | Springer Nature LinkThis Time It's Different! Memory Chips Shed "Cyclical" Label to Reap "AI Infrastructure Super-Dividends" - Tiger BrokersSamsung Electronics operating profit quarterly 2009-2025 - Statista
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