The ongoing RAM crisis, which has significantly impacted the availability and pricing of consumer electronics throughout 2026, is expected to intensify into 2027. Samsung's Q3 2026 earnings call revealed that the company's semiconductor division, a key player in the global memory market, generated 147.1 trillion Korean Won, with 106.5 trillion as profit, accounting for 72% of its total revenue.
Samsung attributed these strong financial results to its strategic focus on manufacturing High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) for AI data centers. Looking ahead, the company anticipates a further tightening of the memory market in 2027, projecting that "Surging AI-driven demand likely to further tighten supply shortages compared with CY26." This outlook suggests a continued departure from prioritizing consumer-grade DDR5 memory, with Samsung instead aiming to establish a "stable sales base through long-term contracts and ensure timely readiness of new products tailored to requirements for AI applications."
This projection aligns with previous reports, including one from Digitimes suggesting that all available memory capacity for 2027 had already been sold out. Samsung, alongside the other two major global memory manufacturers, has shifted production emphasis to high-capacity server-grade memory essential for AI data centers. This industrial pivot has already led to significant changes in the consumer market, such as Micron discontinuing its consumer-facing brand, Crucial, in December of the previous year.
The effects of the RAM shortage are already apparent in the consumer electronics market. The recent sell-out of the PS5 Pro led to a surge in used console prices, with some reaching $1,399. Additionally, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma noted that console demand continues to outstrip supply, despite the availability of Xbox Series X and S models.