Memory Chip Giants Navigate AI Demand While Market Questions Spending Sustainability

Memory chipmakers from South Korea, Japan, and China reported record or near-record earnings this week, though investor concerns about the long-term sustainability of AI infrastructure spending continue to roil markets. Samsung Electronics posted a Q3 operating profit of 107.4 trillion Korean won—nearly eight times the prior-year figure—with revenue surging 127% to 195 trillion won, driven primarily by high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DRAM demand from AI data centers. SK Hynix, another South Korean giant, was expected to report 77 trillion won in operating profit. Japan's Kioxia Holdings reported revenue growth of 415.5% in the prior quarter, with blended selling prices climbing 70% sequentially, while China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) forecast net profit of approximately US$19.58 billion to US$19.8 billion for the first nine months of 2026—a dramatic reversal from the prior year's losses. Micron Technology, the only U.S.-based maker of HBM critical for AI systems, reported that DRAM revenue reached US$39.8 billion in its latest quarter, up 343% year-over-year and representing 73% of total sales.