The AI boom is helping Samsung and coming for Apple

The planetary AI build-out has triggered a monolithic representation shortage that's expected to deed everything from smartphones to PCs.

For Korean tech elephantine Samsung (005930.KS), however, the AI epoch is proving to beryllium a monolithic payday. The company's banal precocious deed an all-time high, pursuing reports that it's leveraging the spot shortage to aggressively rise prices connected its next-generation HBM4 chips by up to 30%.

But successful a twist of irony, Samsung could besides beryllium stung by the shortage similar each different tech company.

In a enactment to clients, KeyBanc expert Brandon Nispel argued that portion this surge successful pricing "sounds good" for Samsung's bottommost line, it whitethorn besides unit the institution to hike costs for its flagship smartphones, specified arsenic its upcoming Galaxy S26, by $70 to $140 conscionable to screen the costs of the silicon inside.

Samsung's archrival Apple (AAPL), which besides happens to beryllium 1 of the firm's biggest customers, is besides projecting it volition look borderline pressures owed to the shortage.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based iPhone shaper is profoundly babelike connected Samsung for astir 60% of its representation components.

Nispel noted that portion Apple mightiness initially effort to clasp prices dependable to bargain marketplace stock from much costly Samsung phones, it is simply a risky bet. And 1 that whitethorn beryllium short-lived.

"We are much of the presumption that Apple volition instrumentality its ain terms summation to support margins," helium said.

Wall Street's side-eye skepticism is present becoming palpable. Nispel noted that the emergence successful representation pricing has go the biggest origin impacting sentiment crossed IT hardware, mostly successful a "negative" light.

Some manufacture participants person adjacent dubbed the aggravated request for representation chips "RAMageddon," with customers near to prime up the tab.

Just this week, Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta (META) announced a monolithic multiyear statement to deploy millions of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs arsenic portion of Meta's planned $135 cardinal successful AI infrastructure spending.

Every spot that goes into a information halfway is simply a spot that isn't going into a smartphone, PC, oregon gaming console, leaving tech companies scrambling for what is left.

Sony (SONY) is reportedly considering delaying the PlayStation 6 merchandise until 2028 oregon 2029 owed to the representation request for AI. Meanwhile, Dell (DELL) has warned of accrued costs and has already raised PC prices by up 20%.

The AI roar shows nary signs of letting up connected this caller hardware tax. And if the existent marketplace trends continue, that taxation could go a imperishable enactment point connected the adjacent smartphone upgrade.

Francisco Velasquez is simply a Reporter astatine Yahoo Finance. Follow him connected LinkedIn, X, and Instagram. Story tips? Email him astatine [email protected].