Overview
- Samsung, which hit a roughly $1 trillion market value Wednesday, rode a surge in demand for memory used in AI data centers.
- The semiconductor unit reported $36 billion in first‑quarter operating income versus the $24.4 billion analysts expected, driving a sharp stock rally.
- Company commentary signaled that standard DRAM is currently more profitable than high‑bandwidth memory because DRAM contract prices reset quarterly while many HBM agreements stay fixed for a year.
- Industry trackers say LPDDR5 contracts are near $10 per gigabyte after a threefold jump since early 2025, and some long‑term deals now set floors and ceilings around $7.80 to $21 per gigabyte.
- Apple has reportedly explored using Intel and Samsung for some processor manufacturing after shortages of TSMC‑made chips constrained recent iPhone shipments.