Direct:
Samsung has decided the smart move is to keep milking the DRAM nodes it already runs rather than rush the next one to market. Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930) is slowing the rollout of 1d DRAM, its seventh-generation 10nm-class node, and the reasoning is mostly financial. Contract prices have gone vertical, Samsung's blended memory ASP is running roughly 146% above its 2025 average, and the existing 1a/1b/1c lines are sold out at those prices. Spending hard to bring up a tougher, lower-yielding node right now would trade guaranteed margin for risk.
The schedule has already slipped. Trial production for 1d was penciled in for early 2026, then pushed, and pilot output is now aimed at the end of 2027 with volume after that. Price is not the whole story. Reporting also points to a poor cost-to-return ratio and 1d yields that have not reached target, which is the less flattering version of the same decision. Either way, Samsung is leaning on mature nodes while they are this profitable.
The catch is that 1d is not only a commodity-DRAM node. It is the DRAM process slated for the memory dies in Samsung's next HBM generations, so a stalled 1d ripples straight into the HBM roadmap, where SK Hynix (KRX: 000660) already holds the lead and Micron (NASDAQ: MU) is pressing. Harvesting today's lines protects 2026 earnings. It also risks leaving Samsung a step behind on the 2027-2028 parts that decide the AI memory race.
For DRAM buyers, this is one more reason not to expect relief soon. The largest maker is choosing to wring out current capacity instead of expanding the frontier, and fresh greenfield supply like the Pyeongtaek line does not come online until 2028. Less incentive to add leading-edge capacity means the tight pricing you are seeing on DDR5 has structural support behind it.
Drafted with AI assistance against parallel reporting.
Sources:
- DigiTimes, “Samsung slows next-gen memory push as price surge rewards existing lines” (June 29, 2026, paywalled stub: headline and lead only)
- DigiTimes, “Samsung advances 1d DRAM roadmap; pilot production eyed by end-2027” (June 18, 2026)
- Neowin, “Samsung reportedly postpones production for latest 10nm DRAM for indefinite period” (2026): cost-to-return ratio, sub-target 1d yield
- TrendForce, “Memory Supercycle Drives 1Q26 Price Surge: Samsung Flags 146% ASP Jump” (May 18, 2026)
- Fudzilla, “Samsung's D1d DRAM yield woes stall HBM5E plans” (2026): 1d as base for next-gen HBM
- Network World, “Samsung warns of memory shortages driving industry-wide price surge in 2026” (2026): existing lines near capacity, Pyeongtaek line mass production 2028
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