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AI CURATED HOT STORY · 10/31/2026

AI Demand Drives Storage Giants' Profits Past Big Tech

1 reports archived1 independent sourcesupdated 10/31/2026, 21:46:12
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Driven by the AI investment boom, the combined operating profits of five major memory chip makers (Kioxia, Samsung, etc.) surpassed those of the US Big Five tech companies for the first time last quarter. Surging demand for NAND and HBM in data centers created a supply shortage, pushing memory makers' operating margins to nearly 70%, while downstream tech giants face cash flow pressures from massive capital expenditures.

LATEST/Driven by the AI investment boom, the combined operating profits of five major memory chip makers (Kioxia, Samsung, etc.) surpassed those of the US Big Five tech companies for the first time last quarter. Surging demand for NAND and HBM in data centers created a supply shortage, pushing memory makers' operating margins to nearly 70%, while downstream tech giants face cash flow pressures from massive capital expenditures.

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  1. IT之家 · IT业界T2·85 pts

    AI Demand Drives Storage Giants' Profits Past Big Tech

    • Combined Q3 operating profits of top five memory makers hit 32 trillion yen (10x YoY), surpassing US Big Five tech firms for the first time.
    • Kioxia's net profit surged 33x YoY; Samsung became the first tech firm with quarterly op profit over 100 trillion KRW, with next year's HBM sold out.
    • Memory makers' operating margins jumped from ~10% to nearly 70%, driven by surging data center demand for long-term storage NAND.
    • Despite upstream gains, downstream giants like Amazon and Alphabet face widening free cash flow gaps due to continued massive data center investments.