Samsung Forecasts Persistent AI Chip Shortages Amid Strong Demand
Samsung Electronics reported a massive surge in Q2 semiconductor profits—over 250 times compared to the previous year—and forecast that AI chip demand will remain strong with persistent supply shortages. The company expects capital expenditure on AI infrastructure to continue rising through the second half of 2026. This outlook underscores the massive, sustained investment in AI infrastructure by tech giants, driving demand for advanced memory chips. However, rising chip prices are squeezing profit margins in other sectors, such as Samsung's own mobile division, which recorded a quarterly loss. While Samsung's overall revenue grew 130% year-on-year, its mobile business recorded a loss of 700 billion won due to rising component costs. Meanwhile, competitor SK Hynix plans to increase its capital expenditure by approximately 50% to meet the surging demand for AI hardware.
## BACKGROUND
The rapid expansion of generative AI and the emergence of agentic AI—autonomous systems capable of pursuing goals and taking actions—have triggered massive demand for high-performance hardware. To support these workloads, data centers rely heavily on High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), a 3D-stacked memory technology pioneered by companies like Samsung and SK Hynix to deliver faster data transfer speeds.