Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SSNLF.US) anticipates that the shortage of memory chips will drive up prices across the entire electronics industry, potentially even impacting its own consumer electronics products. Even as the world's largest memory chip manufacturer, Samsung is not immune to the effects of soaring memory chip costs—a critical component used in nearly all electronic devices, from smartphones and laptops to connected home appliances and autonomous vehicles. Samsung's President and Head of Global Marketing, Wonjin Lee, stated, "Chip supply will be an issue, and it will affect everyone. Even as we speak now, prices are rising. Obviously, we don't want to pass this burden on to consumers, but we will soon reach a point where we must seriously consider adjusting product prices." Wonjin Lee made these remarks at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Samsung is showcasing its vast array of electronics, ranging from miniature wireless earbuds to a massive 130-inch wall-dominating television. Like other major consumer-facing brands at the event, Samsung is promoting its vision of a more interconnected, AI-enhanced product lineup while simultaneously confronting the challenge of rising production costs. In 2025, as global AI infrastructure construction enters a period of explosive growth, the memory industry is experiencing a "super cycle." The core logic is twofold: on one hand, AI servers demand significantly higher memory capacity and bandwidth compared to standard servers. On the other hand, industry capacity is shifting towards high-end memory products (such as HBM), squeezing the production capacity for traditional memory products, thereby triggering a wave of price increases across the entire memory sector. Last November, several technology companies, including Dell Technologies (DELL.US) and HP (HPQ.US), warned that a memory chip supply shortage could emerge by 2026 due to surging demand driven by AI infrastructure build-out. Consumer electronics manufacturers, including Xiaomi Group, have issued warnings about potential price hikes, while companies like Lenovo Group have begun stockpiling memory chips in anticipation of rising costs. Market research firm Counterpoint Research predicts that memory module prices will increase by 50% by the second quarter of 2026. It is worth noting that this "super cycle" in the memory industry is expected to persist throughout 2026, a point underscored by the highly optimistic earnings outlook provided by Micron Technology in its financial report released last December. TrendForce expects prices for various memory products to continue rising comprehensively in the first quarter of 2026. Against the backdrop of this memory industry "super cycle," LSEG estimates that Samsung Electronics' operating profit for the October to December period last year reached 16.9 trillion won (approximately $117 billion), far exceeding the 6.49 trillion won from the same period a year earlier, marking the highest quarterly profit since the third quarter of 2018. Compared to competitors unable to produce their own memory chips, Samsung finds itself in a more advantageous position. Wonjin Lee expects the company to outperform the overall market. He stated, "We are more optimistic about the outlook for 2026 than the situation we experienced last year. With the emergence of AI, I believe people are looking forward to upgrading their phones to take advantage of these new technologies."