Samsung is reportedly seeking another major increase in DRAM prices during the third quarter of 2026 as shortages continue across server, mobile and AI-related memory products.
The company is negotiating with commodity DRAM customers to raise average selling prices by as much as 20% from the previous quarter. Prices for LPDDR memory used in smartphones, servers and other power-sensitive devices could increase by more than 20% because of particularly severe supply constraints.
The planned increase would mark Samsung’s third consecutive quarter of sharp DRAM price rises.
Samsung’s average DRAM selling prices rose by slightly more than 90% during the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. Industry estimates indicate that prices then increased by another 50% to 60% during the second quarter.
The latest negotiations show that although the pace of price increases may be slowing, buyers are unlikely to receive meaningful relief during the third quarter.
Supply constraints now cover conventional server DRAM, high-bandwidth memory and LPDDR, which is increasingly being used for AI inference alongside smartphones and thin laptops.
A 12GB LPDDR5X module reportedly cost around $120 near the end of the first quarter and during the early part of the second quarter. Its contract price has since reached approximately $145, representing an increase of $68.80 since the beginning of 2026 and roughly three times its level in early 2025.
Further increases could raise production costs for smartphone, computer and server manufacturers, which may respond by increasing retail prices, reducing memory configurations or delaying some products.
Samsung’s prices are changing more frequently than those of SK Hynix because Samsung retains a larger presence in the more volatile commodity DRAM market.
SK Hynix depends more heavily on high-bandwidth memory supplied through long-term agreements. These contracts create more stable pricing and make the company less exposed to short-term market movements.
The growing use of long-term agreements could gradually reduce the size of quarterly price increases across the industry. However, such contracts also establish minimum prices, making a return to earlier low-cost memory levels less likely.
Samsung and SK Hynix plan to invest a combined 800 trillion won, or around $518 billion, in four new semiconductor plants in southwestern South Korea.
The facilities are intended to expand the country’s memory production capacity as AI demand continues to consume available supplies. However, the investment will be spread over several years, meaning it will not provide immediate relief from the current shortage.
Until additional production becomes available, memory prices are likely to remain a major source of pressure for manufacturers of smartphones, computers, servers and gaming hardware.
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