As prices of general-purpose memory semiconductors have surged recently, the cost burden on the global electronics industry is growing. As the share of high bandwidth memory (HBM) production has increased with the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, supplies of general-purpose DRAM and NAND flash have decreased, and this is feeding through into expense pressure for major finished goods manufacturers such as smartphones, PCs, and laptops.
According to market researcher TrendForce on the 20th, fixed transaction prices for DRAM in the third quarter jumped 171.8% from a year earlier. As major suppliers adjusted shipments citing inventory reduction, an inversion emerged in which prices of older DRAM traded higher than newer models. NAND flash is also seeing continued shortages, and the spot price for 512Gb TLC wafers rose more than 17% last week.
Domestic consumer prices have also surged in two months. According to price-comparison site DANAWA, Samsung Electronics DDR5-5600 16GB products rose from about 69,000 won in Sep. to 204,000 won as of the 19th, roughly tripling. The price of SK hynix 1TB SSDs also rose 24% over the same period. The industry expects the share of memory prices in laptop manufacturing costs to expand from 10%–18% to more than 20% next year.
Smartphone component prices are following the same trend. According to the industry, mobile DRAM (LPDDR5) prices in the third quarter rose about 15% from a year earlier, and prices for application processors (AP) and camera modules rose 9.0% and 11.3%, respectively. In both PCs/laptops and smartphones, rising prices for memory and key components are squeezing manufacturers' expense structures.
In India and China, where smartphones have a large market share, consumer price adjustments have already begun. In India, Samsung Electronics, Oppo, and Vivo recently raised the factory prices of budget models such as the Galaxy A17, F31, and T4x by up to 2,000 rupees (about 33,000 won). If component shortages persist, there is talk that next-generation models could see increases of up to 6,000 rupees (about 100,000 won).
In China, Xiaomi also launched the "Redmi K90 Pro Max" at a price 300 yuan (about 60,000 won) higher than its predecessor. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said, "We cannot avoid reflecting the rise in component unit costs."
Samsung Electronics and Apple are also said to be considering raising factory prices for next year's flagship products. Samsung Electronics has kept factory prices frozen for three years since the Galaxy S23 series, but component expenses and currency burdens are rising simultaneously. Apple is also said to have recently been notified of a supply price increase from TSMC, which supplies chips for iPhones. TrendForce said, "Memory prices have entered a strong upcycle, which will push up the retail prices of final products and shock consumers and the market."
The expanding cost burden is also evident in U.S. stocks. Micron and SanDisk, expected to benefit from rising memory prices, have shown strength recently, but shares of finished goods makers such as Dell and HP fell 8% and 6% on the 17th (local time), respectively. The market interprets the increase in memory expenses as fueling concerns about a slowdown in profitability.
Pessimism is also growing that rising costs will lead to a contraction in consumer markets for electronics. TrendForce projected that smartphone and laptop prices could rise around 10% next year, raising the possibility that demand will weaken sharply in the budget segment, where price sensitivity is high.
TrendForce also said, "In the fourth quarter this year, contract prices for DRAM are expected to rise by more than 75%, and the price increases for DRAM and NAND flash will continue," adding, "In 2026, smartphone manufacturing costs are expected to increase by more than 5%–7% compared with this year." Laptops are also expected to see costs rise 10%–12% next year due to the surge in memory prices, so pressure on finished goods prices is likely to continue for the time being.