The memory crisis makes Samsung rich: now it earns more than Microsoft, Meta, and other big techs

The memory crisis is creating no small problems for the tech sector but is also ensuring record results for some companies positioned in the right market segment. An example in this sense comes from Samsung, which has just closed a truly record-setting first quarter of 2026. This performance is confirmed by a new report from Counterpoint that analyzed Samsung's preliminary results.

Record numbers thanks to the memory crisis

Samsung Electronics has indeed recorded a historic peak in its preliminary results for the first quarter of 2026, with a revenue of $90.8 billion and an operating profit of $38.9 billion.

According to Counterpoint, the company ranks first in revenue in the memory sector for the first quarter of 2026 with a total of $50.4 billion, including $37 billion in the DRAM sector and $13.4 billion in the NAND sector. This represents a 167% increase over the previous record ($18.9 billion recorded in Q3 2018). Counterpoint forecasts an improvement in results in the second quarter of 2026.

This chart clearly shows Samsung's Q1 2026 results regarding operating income, in comparison with numbers from other "big" companies (related to Q4 2025).

Choi Jeong-gu, a senior researcher at Counterpoint, commented: "Samsung's excellent performance is expected to continue for the time being. Due to strong demand for memory across all sectors, the company is generating profits from high prices of general-use DRAM, and this trend is expected to continue until 2027, when the expansion of supply volumes becomes evident."