Samsung Earnings Just Hit a Record, and It Could Make Your Next Phone and Laptop More Expensive

Samsung Electronics expects a record operating profit of roughly $58.4 billion (£44 billion) for the second quarter of 2026, a near 19-fold jump from a year earlier, according to preliminary guidance released on Tuesday. The record rests on a global memory chip shortage, and that same shortage is about to make the phones, laptops, and games consoles Americans buy noticeably more expensive.

A Record Quarter Built on Scarce Chips

The South Korean tech giant guided to 89.4 trillion Korean won in operating profit on revenue of 171 trillion won, or around $111.8 billion (£83 billion). As is standard at the guidance stage, the company gave no divisional breakdown. Detailed results follow on 30 July.

The windfall comes entirely from semiconductors. Samsung's chip division generated 94% of company-wide operating profit in the first quarter as AI data centre operators raced to lock up memory supply. A year earlier, the memory market was crawling out of a deep downturn.

Kim Yong-kwan, president of business strategy at Samsung's Device Solutions division, reportedly told staff at a 3 July town hall that 2026 profits could exceed the company's cumulative semiconductor earnings from the past 40 years.

Why Your Next Phone and Laptop Will Cost More

Contract prices for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash, the chips inside nearly every phone, laptop, solid-state drive, and games console, jumped by as much as 60% to 95% in a single quarter, industry pricing data shows.

Samsung is not letting up. The company raised commodity DRAM prices by roughly 90% in the first quarter, added another 50% to 60% in the second, and is now pushing customers for a further increase of more than 20% in the third quarter, according to supply chain reports.

Those costs flow straight down the chain. Memory makers charge device manufacturers more, and manufacturers pass the bill to shoppers. Rival Micron Technology posted a $33.3 billion (£24.8 billion) operating profit for its latest quarter, up roughly 15-fold, confirming the pricing power now spans the whole industry.

Samsung memory chief Kim Jae-june said the company's ability to fulfil orders has fallen to a historic low, with customers booking capacity as far out as 2027. Samsung expects the shortage to last until that year.

Even Samsung's Own Phones Are Losing Money

The squeeze cuts both ways. Korean analysts estimate Samsung's own mobile division lost around $653 million (£487 million) in the quarter because memory now accounts for more than 40% of a device's component costs. The unit is reportedly heading for the first annual loss in its history.

If the world's largest phone maker cannot absorb its own chip prices, smaller brands and their customers stand even less chance. Analysts warn consumer electronics will bear the brunt as factory capacity keeps shifting towards AI infrastructure.

The One Blemish Investors Noticed

The quarter was not flawless. Revenue of 171 trillion won came in below the analyst consensus of 172.2 trillion won, a rare miss on an otherwise historic day, and shares fell more than 6% in early Seoul trading on Tuesday.

The headline figure also understates the boom. Samsung set aside an estimated 19 to 25 trillion won for first-half employee bonuses, and Shinhan Investment analyst Kim Hyung-tae calculated that underlying quarterly profitability topped 100 trillion won once those provisions are stripped out.

For US shoppers, that is the real story. A record earnings day in Seoul is an early warning that the sticker shock arrives on American shelves in the months ahead.