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Samsung Electronics confirms 100% DRAM price hike for first quarter amid AI demand
Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 01:25 AM
Samsung Electronics has finalized its first-quarter DRAM supply contracts with price increases averaging 100% quarter-over-quarter, a significant jump from the 70% increase estimated in January. This trend is driven by high demand for AI infrastructure, which has led Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron to prioritize HBM production, thereby constraining the supply of commodity DRAM for servers and mobile devices.
Context
Samsung Electronics and Nanya Technology are experiencing a significant resurgence as the DRAM market enters a high-growth "super cycle." In Q4 2025, Samsung reclaimed the global top spot with DRAM revenues reaching approximately $19.3 billion, a sequential increase of over 40%. This growth is primarily fueled by a recovery in the commodity market, where tight supply is driving massive price hikes. While leading manufacturers pivot production capacity toward high-margin AI memory like HBM, a supply gap has emerged for conventional DRAM, allowing Samsung and Nanya to leverage their large production footprints in standard DDR4 and DDR5 modules.
The expansion is most visible in pricing power, with conventional DRAM contract prices projected to surge by nearly 100% (specifically 90-95%) entering 1Q 2026. Nanya Technology reported a 54.7% revenue jump in the latest quarter, with operating margins expanding sharply to 39.1% as buyers scramble to secure inventory amid a widening supply-demand gap. This trend marks a shift where AI-driven infrastructure build-outs are now broadening to include general-purpose servers, ensuring sustained demand for the commodity segments dominated by these two players.
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