Samsung Electronics' average selling price for high-bandwidth memory is expected to more than double in 2027 as its newer HBM4 chips become the bulk of shipments, The Korea Herald reported Wednesday, citing forecasts from KB Securities and market researcher TrendForce. The projections come from analysts, not from Samsung.

What Happened

KB Securities expects Samsung's average HBM selling price to rise by more than 100% year over year in 2027. TrendForce forecasts a 121% rise in the blended average selling price across the global HBM market next year.

The jump rests largely on product mix. Samsung has proposed 2027 prices for HBM4 in the mid-to-high $4 range per gigabit, according to the report, compared with about $1.50 per gigabit for the current HBM3E generation, roughly a threefold step up. The Korea Herald described those figures as asking prices rather than final contracts and said Samsung has not publicly confirmed its 2027 HBM4 terms. The article did not name the customers involved.

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KB Securities expects HBM4 to account for about 80% of Samsung's HBM revenue in 2027, up from about 40% this year. The broker also said Samsung's HBM4 could command the highest prices among the three suppliers, Samsung, SK hynix and Micron.

Why It Matters

HBM is stacked DRAM placed next to a GPU or custom AI chip to feed it data quickly, and each accelerator carries several stacks. That makes memory one of the largest components in the cost of an AI server, so a doubling in average prices would push up costs for GPU makers, chip designers and the cloud providers buying their systems.

The forecasts also point to a shift in bargaining power. The Korea Herald reported that conventional memory has become a competitor for the same factory capacity: TrendForce found that 64GB DDR5 server modules overtook HBM in revenue per wafer in the first quarter. With standard DRAM that profitable, suppliers have less reason to discount HBM. TrendForce expects DDR5 contract prices to rise 10% to 15% quarter over quarter in the fourth quarter and HBM supply to stay tight through 2027.

For Samsung, the stakes are about catching up. SK hynix has led the HBM market through the AI boom, the newspaper noted, and Samsung has worked to win a larger share of orders for advanced accelerators.

Context

Samsung began commercial shipments of HBM4 in February 2026 and started sending samples of 12-layer HBM4E, the next step, to global customers in late May. The higher HBM4 price reflects a more advanced product as well as tight supply across the memory market, which has also lifted results at Micron and expectations for Samsung's memory business this year.

What to Watch

Samsung's preliminary third-quarter results, which the company customarily issues in early October, will show how much memory pricing is already feeding into profit. The bigger marker is the outcome of 2027 HBM4 contract negotiations with GPU and custom-chip customers, which will show whether buyers accept prices near Samsung's asking range or push them down. Any signs of new HBM capacity at the three suppliers, or of DDR5 prices cooling, would weaken the case for a doubling.