TLDR
- Samsung co-CEO Jun Young-hyun announced plans to shift memory chip contracts from quarterly/annual to 3–5 year deals
- Samsung stock rose 7.5% on Wednesday, up 62% since January, hitting record highs
- The chip shortage is expected to persist 4–5 more years due to structural supply constraints
- SK Hynix and Micron also dominate the memory chip market; SK Hynix is preparing its own price stabilisation measures
- Samsung is now a confirmed Nvidia foundry partner, with Jensen Huang praising its HBM4 chips at GTC
Samsung has been on a tear in 2026. The stock is up 62% since January, and on Wednesday it added another 7.5%, hitting record highs on the Korea Exchange. The gains extended for a third straight session and lifted other group stocks, with Samsung C&T surging as much as 8.9% and Samsung Life Insurance jumping 13%.
The catalyst was the company’s annual shareholder meeting, where co-CEO Jun Young-hyun laid out a plan to lock in customers through multi-year contracts. Samsung is looking to shift from the current quarterly or annual agreements to deals lasting three to five years.
Jun said the goal is to smooth out the peaks and troughs that make the chip business so volatile. By securing longer commitments, Samsung hopes to reduce uncertainty on both the supply and demand sides.
The move comes as the global memory chip shortage continues to bite. The three dominant players — Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron — have shifted production toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AI accelerators like those made by Nvidia. That pivot has left conventional memory in short supply.
That shortage is rippling through industries. Everything from laptops and smartphones to cars and data centres is feeling the pressure of tighter chip supply and rising prices.
AI Demand Driving the Cycle
Jun described the current environment as an “unprecedented supercycle” driven by AI data centre investment. He expects strong chip demand to continue through 2026, though he flagged risks including tariff uncertainty and cost pressures in Samsung’s consumer electronics segment.
“There are concerns regarding overheating in investment in AI infrastructure,” Jun said. “We plan to continuously seize opportunities arising from the AI cycle while preparing for various scenarios with a cautious view.”
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said this week that the global memory shortage could persist for another four to five years due to deep structural constraints in semiconductor production. SK Hynix is also preparing measures to help stabilise DRAM prices, which analysts say could include its own multi-year contract approach.
The shortage has been a dramatic reversal for Samsung. At last year’s shareholder meeting, Jun apologised for the company missing the initial AI chip wave, which had dragged down earnings and the stock price.
Samsung and Nvidia: A Key Partnership
This year’s tone was very different. Jun pointed to Nvidia’s GTC conference, where CEO Jensen Huang announced a foundry partnership with Samsung and specifically praised the company’s HBM4 chips. Jun described Samsung as “a key partner with Nvidia in AI infrastructure.”
The company has also been narrowing the gap with SK Hynix in the HBM race, which had been a sore point for investors.
One issue that came up at the meeting was labour. Unions have threatened a strike in May over a pay gap with rivals. SK Hynix’s average annual employee pay rose 58% last year. Jun acknowledged the gap but said chip sector recovery would allow Samsung to close it.
Samsung stock closed the Wednesday session up 7.5%, outperforming the wider Korean market’s 5% gain.
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