Samsung Electronics, the South Korean tech giant, has warned this Thursday that the industry's difficulties in responding to the strong pull of demand for microchips linked to AI will intensify in 2027 and will remain, at a minimum, until 2028.
"Supply constraints are expected to worsen further in 2027, reinforcing our view that the shortage will persist until 2028," commented Jaejune Kim, vice president of Samsung, during a conference with analysts, who is confident that the boom in AI tokens will drive "exponential demand" in the medium and long term.
In this context, given the supply restrictions of memory and the expansion of AI infrastructure capacity, an increasing number of developers of cutting-edge AI models are going directly to the South Korean manufacturer to secure supply and are proposing multi-year agreements in order to guarantee access to sufficient capacity.
These long-term contracts fit with Samsung's strategy to reduce medium and long-term risk and evolve from a scheme very exposed to the ups and downs of supply and demand to a more stable and predictable business model.
At the same time, despite the strong widespread increase in capital investment (Capex) in the sector, and considering that the timeframe from the construction of a new plant to the effective production of wafers exceeds three years, the South Korean executive has warned that "any significant increase in supply capacity will require considerable time."
"It is unlikely that a significant increase in supply will occur until 2028," he stated, adding that, in light of the requests made by customers, the demand that cannot be met will be carried over to the following year, which will fuel a greater supply shortage in the coming years.
Record results for Samsung in the second quarter of 2026
Samsung Electronics achieved a record net profit attributable of 71.3 trillion won (43.110 million euros) in the second quarter of 2026, which implies a year-on-year increase of 1,355% and nearly multiplying by 15 the result of the same period of the previous year.
The operating profit also marked a historic quarterly high, standing at 89.5 trillion won (54.120 million euros), multiplying by 19 the figure recorded between April and June of the previous fiscal year.
Samsung's sales in the second quarter reached 171.5 trillion won (103.710 billion euros), which represents an increase of 130% compared to a year earlier.
In detail, the consumer electronics and mobile communications division (DX) generated 48 trillion won (20.030 billion euros), 10% more, while the memory unit (DS) earned 125.5 trillion won (75.890 billion euros), 357% more.
For its part, the areas of SDC and vehicle and audio connectivity (Harman) contributed 7.5 trillion won (4.540 billion euros) and 4.6 trillion won (2.780 billion euros), which represents increases of 17% and 19%, respectively.
At the same time, the financial profitability (RoE) of the second quarter skyrocketed to 56% from 5% a year earlier, while the margin on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) climbed to 59%, compared to the 20% recorded in the second quarter of 2025.