Samsung recently announced that it has begun shipping next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips to clients. HBM4 memory is in high demand right now, so much so that it has led to an intense shortage in the market.

The company is well positioned to take full advantage of the current market dynamics. Samsung is reportedly looking to increase the price of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory by as much as 30% over the previous generation.

Local media reports have indicated that Samsung is negotiating a price for HBM4 chips with customers that is up to 30% higher than the previous generation. The report mentions that Samsung intends to price HBM4 at approximately $700 per unit.

Investors have loved this possibility, and this led to Samsung Electronics' stock hitting an all-time high after it surged by up to 5.4% once the market opened this morning. Bloomberg reports that the $700 price tag for a single HBM4 unit suggests that Samsung's operating profit margin on the chip would be between 50 – 60%.

The world's leading companies are pouring billions into AI hardware and that requires a large amount of high-bandwidth memory. This has worked out well for companies like Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. They now have incredible pricing power because these memory chips can't be found elsewhere.

The local media reports also suggest that SK Hynix might follow Samsung into raising prices for its HBM4 chips, as it's believed to have negotiated a mid-$500 price per HBM4 unit with NVIDIA back in August last year.