Soaring RAM and storage prices are forcing Samsung to do the unthinkable: sell fewer phones. The company is reportedly planning to cut smartphone production by as much as 30% in Q4 this year to reduce its operating losses.
The entire smartphone industry, and the consumer electronics segment in general, is suffering from the side effects of a steep increase in DRAM and storage prices. This has led to smartphones, tablets, and other devices becoming increasingly expensive.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Z Fold 8 with a higher price tag earlier this year. Even after that, it increased the prices of its flagship phones by $100, with other mid-range devices also getting more expensive. Despite such price increases, the company is apparently struggling to make profits.
Due to this, Money Today, citing industry sources, reports that Samsung will cut down on its smartphone shipments by as much as 20–30% in Q4 this year. The company has already informed its component suppliers about this. Prior to the cut, Samsung was planning to manufacture around 270 million smartphones this year. But now, the revised figure could land somewhere around 200 million.
A source told the publication that Samsung's mobile division is not making any profit from selling phones due to rising memory and semiconductor prices. So, the company aims to protect its bottom line by lowering its phone sales to curb losses.
The cut in smartphone production comes despite Samsung seeing strong demand for its premium phones like the Galaxy S26 series and Z Fold 8. Both these lineups have significantly outsold their predecessors.
Samsung itself is making record profits from its memory chip business
Samsung's mobile division reported the first-ever quarterly loss in its history in Q2 2026 on the back of rising memory chip prices. While the entire Device eXperience (DX) division reported a loss of around $544 million, the mobile division accounted for about $476 million of that. With memory chip prices continuing to rise, the mobile division may report even bigger losses in Q3 and Q4.
Ironically, the mobile division’s losses come at a time when Samsung itself is generating record profits from its memory chip business. Its Q2 2026 profits surged a staggering 1,810%, beating the likes of Nvidia and Google.
The company expects record-breaking earnings in Q3 2026, forecasting an operating profit of around $80.17 billion. If that happens, it will be the highest quarterly profit ever recorded by any tech company.