Despite Galaxy S26 sales success, Samsung mobile chief warns of major losses

Source: Android Authority

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

TL;DR

• Samsung’s mobile chief warned that the division could see a full year of losses.
• The warning comes amid a spike in RAM prices and other component cost increases.
• It follows a report last month that the division had entered “emergency management.”

Background: RAM price crisis

Smartphone makers have been forced to raise prices or reduce profits due to the RAM crisis. Samsung’s mobile division previously suggested it could post a deficit, and the firm has now sounded the alarm on a full year of losses.

Warning from Samsung’s mobile chief

Samsung mobile chief TM Roh warned company executives that the smartphone division could see a full year of losses, according to Money Today (h/t: Jukan05 on Twitter), citing “industry sources.”

• This would be the division’s first‑ever annual loss.
• It comes as Samsung’s memory manufacturing arm expects record‑high profits.

RAM scarcity and its impact

The outlet noted that NVIDIA’s upcoming Vera AI CPU will have 1.5 TB of LPDDR5X RAM, while its Vera Rubin NVL72 supercomputer will use 36 of these CPUs.

“Considering that the Galaxy S26 Ultra is usually equipped with 12 GB LPDDR5X, one AI supercomputer consumes the memory of about 4,600 smartphones,” the article explained.

Consequences

• Consumer tech companies are hiking prices and even canceling some releases as they struggle to secure RAM.
• RAM prices could increase by over 80 % this quarter, according to the outlet.

Emergency management and cost‑cutting measures

A report last month indicated that Samsung’s mobile division had entered “emergency management” due to rising component prices and the possibility of a deficit.

• The unit ordered a 30 % reduction in costs.
• Travel policies shifted to economy‑class flights instead of business‑class.

Sales performance of the Galaxy S26 series

Despite the financial warnings, Samsung is delivering impressive sales for the Galaxy S26 series. Counterpoint Research reported that early sales of the new flagships were better than the Galaxy S25 series, with double‑digit growth in the US and Western Europe.

• Source: Samsung Galaxy S26 series sales