In a recent announcement, the co - CEO of South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics described the current shortage of memory chips as both “unprecedented” and “extremely severe.” This scarcity has led to a sharp increase in memory chip prices, which is bound to have a knock - on effect on smartphone prices.

Data from market research firm DRAMeXchange reveals that over the past year, the benchmark price of traditional DDR4 DRAM has skyrocketed nearly sevenfold. It has now reached its highest point since the firm started tracking prices in 2016. During the same timeframe, NAND flash memory prices have also more than doubled.

Samsung Electronics is set to unveil its fourth - quarter earnings report later this week. Market sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with widespread expectations that its quarterly operating profit will hit around 19 trillion won (roughly $14 billion). This figure is nearly three times that of the previous quarter. Some analysts are even more optimistic, predicting that the profit could surpass 20 trillion won for the first time, mainly due to the strong performance of its semiconductor division.

The substantial price hike in memory chips is a clear indication of a tight supply situation. As the world's largest producer of memory chips, Samsung is emerging as the biggest winner from this trend.

Moreover, Samsung's standing in the High - Bandwidth Memory (HBM) sector is getting stronger. Recently, its sixth - generation HBM4 products, which were supplied to major clients like NVIDIA and Broadcom, achieved the highest performance rating in tests. The HBM4 is anticipated to be incorporated into NVIDIA's next - generation AI platform, which is scheduled for release later this year.

In terms of market share, Samsung has been steadily increasing its foothold in the global HBM market. Its share rose from 13% in the first quarter of last year to over 20% in the third quarter. Analysts project that it will exceed 30% this year.