Samsung sells out 2027 HBM, sees shortage through 2028

The world's two largest memory chipmakers said this week that the AI-driven chip shortage is far from over. SK Hynix said its memory supply is effectively sold out through 2029, and Samsung Electronics said its supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for next year is already spoken for. Both companies said new factories cannot come online fast enough to meet demand from data centers. SK Hynix expects the shortage to last until 2030, while Samsung gave a more conservative view and expects the market to stay tight through 2028.sunherald.com

SK Hynix sees crunch to 2030

SK Hynix [000660.KS] spoke on its third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, October 28. It said that volumes already locked in under long-term agreements, together with demand under detailed discussion with customers, mean its "DRAM and HBM volume for the next three years through 2029 is effectively sold out," according to PCMag. The company has signed such agreements with 14 key customers, including major cloud providers. Those deals already cover more than half of its production capacity for 2027 and 2028, Herald Corp reported. Requests for HBM exceed available supply by more than double, the company said.pcmag.com+2

"Given the complexities involved in implementing leading-edge processes and the lead times required to construct new production facilities, a situation where supply cannot keep up with demand is expected to persist for some time, a constraint projected to continue through 2030," Chief Financial Officer Woo-hyun Kim said, according to Yahoo Finance. SK Hynix also reported a record quarterly profit.en.yna.co.kr+1

Samsung locks in long-term deals

On its own call on Thursday, October 29, Samsung Electronics [005930.KS] said negotiations for its 2027 HBM supply "have been completed at prices reflecting our product competitiveness, and the volume is already sold out." It added that major customers keep asking for more, The Investor reported. Samsung has signed long-term supply contracts with 10 major customers and is negotiating with another 10. It aims to cover 60% to 70% of its production capacity with such contracts by 2030, Aju Press reported. Demand for these contracts is spreading beyond hyperscalers to the mobile and automotive sectors.theinvestor.co.kr+1

Samsung said "unprecedented strong memory demand" will continue into 2027 as AI infrastructure competition accelerates and personal AI agents spread, Money Today reported. The company expects tight supply to persist through 2028.mt.co.kr

Spending can't close the gap

Samsung's chip division plans a sharp increase in capital spending next year, after a 62% jump to 76.8 trillion won this year, according to Reuters reporting carried by the Sun Herald. Even so, the company warned that the long lead time from new construction to wafer production makes it hard for higher investment to add meaningful output by 2028. Samsung also noted that the larger die sizes used in HBM limit how much total output can grow, according to an earnings call transcript.uk.investing.com+2

The shift of capacity toward HBM is coming at the expense of conventional DRAM. That could keep memory prices high for computers, smartphones and servers, Ground News summarized.ground.news