Samsung’s Record Profits In The Middle Of A Memory Crisis
Samsung Electronics just predicted a massive jump in profit for the final quarter of 2025, and it all ties directly into the memory market that powers our gaming PCs and cloud gaming services.
The company expects around 20 trillion Korean won in operating profit for Q4 2025. That is over 13 billion US dollars and almost three times what Samsung made in the same quarter of 2024. Even the full guidance range of 19.9 to 20.1 trillion won for profit and 92 to 94 trillion won for sales shows just how strong demand for memory has become.
This would smash Samsung’s previous profit record of 17.57 trillion won set back in Q3 2018. So while gamers and PC builders are feeling the pain of high RAM and SSD prices, the leading memory makers are doing extremely well.
The big driver behind this is the so called memory apocalypse. Demand for DRAM and NAND flash is exploding, especially for AI and cloud data centers, and that tight supply is pushing prices up across the board.
Why Memory Prices Are Climbing So Fast
The uncomfortable truth for anyone upgrading a gaming PC in 2026 is that prices for RAM and storage are very unlikely to fall any time soon. Several industry signals all point the same way.
- Samsung and SK Hynix, two of the biggest memory manufacturers, have reportedly warned cloud providers that server memory prices could jump by as much as 70 percent over Q4 2025 levels.
- Market analyst firm TrendForce predicts DRAM prices could rise up to 60 percent by the end of Q1 2026. That covers the same type of memory used in gaming PCs, laptops and consoles.
- AI servers and cloud platforms are buying huge amounts of high end memory, which limits how much supply is left for consumer products.
Most of that 70 percent figure is aimed at data center and cloud customers such as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. On the surface that might sound like a problem only for enterprise users. However the knock on effect is that the same production lines and wafers that feed server memory also support desktop and laptop memory.
When the big cloud providers are willing to pay top dollar to secure capacity, consumer markets get squeezed. That is why gaming RAM kits and SSDs have already become more expensive compared to the lows we saw a year or two ago.
At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Samsung executives made it clear that the impact will reach well beyond pure PC components. Co CEO T M Roh told Reuters that the memory supply crunch affects many consumer devices, not just RAM modules and system storage. He specifically mentioned that price increases for products like home appliances, smartphones and TVs are possible and even called some level of impact inevitable.
Wonjin Lee, president and head of global marketing at Samsung, echoed this sentiment to Bloomberg. He warned that semiconductor supply issues are affecting everyone and that prices are already rising. While Samsung does not want to pass the full burden on to consumers, he admitted there may come a point where the company has to reprice its products.
What This Means For Your Gaming PC And When To Upgrade
For PC gamers, builders and anyone eyeing an upgrade in 2026, the message is not exactly cheerful. Memory manufacturers are booking record profits, demand from AI and cloud customers is huge, and every major forecast expects RAM and storage prices to rise further into the year.
How should you react if you are planning to tweak or rebuild your rig
- Do not panic buy but do not expect a sale either. Rushing to grab any kit you see is never wise, but waiting for big discounts could leave you disappointed. The broader trend is upward, not downward.
- Prioritize essential upgrades. If your system is struggling with only 8 or 16 GB of RAM, or you are cramped on a small SSD, moving up to a more comfortable configuration may be worth doing sooner rather than later.
- Factor memory into your full build budget. When planning a new PC, do not just look at GPU and CPU prices. RAM and SSDs may eat a larger share of your budget than they did in recent years.
- Watch capacity jumps, not tiny speed bumps. With pricing climbing, it usually makes more sense to put money into more capacity rather than slightly faster specs. For most gamers 32 GB of decent DDR4 or DDR5 and a roomy NVMe SSD will matter more than chasing the absolute highest clocks.
Even people deep inside the storage industry are advising against waiting. Back in December, Kingston’s Cameron Crandall warned that NAND wafer prices had already increased by 246 percent, with the sharpest moves happening in just 60 days. His advice was simple: if you know you need an SSD, do it now and do not wait, because prices are likely to keep going up.
None of this means you should blow your entire budget immediately. Tech cycles always shift, new fabs come online and demand patterns change. But for early and mid 2026, the landscape is clear. Memory makers are riding a wave of demand driven by AI and cloud computing, and gamers are caught in the same tide.
If your gaming PC feels cramped on RAM or storage and you were already planning an upgrade, treating it as a sooner rather than later purchase looks like the smarter play. Just be ready for the sticker shock. Happy new year, and may your frames stay high even if your memory budget has to stretch a bit further.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/memory/samsung-estimates-record-breaking-usd13-billion-profits-and-says-memory-apocalypse-tainted-prices-are-inevitable/
