Samsung Delays DDR4 RAM Production Exit to Cash In on Rising Demand

Samsung had planned to scale down DDR4 production by late 2025 as it shifted more resources toward DDR5 and HBM. With demand holding up and margins improving, the company now appears to be slowing that exit. As a result, Samsung will reportedly maintain limited DDR4 RAM production into 2026.

Samsung extends DDR4 supply, but for select customers only

The shift comes as DDR4 RAM pricing has climbed to levels few expected this late in the standard’s lifecycle. After major DRAM vendors cut capacity aggressively, supply tightened much faster than demand eased. Server customers, cloud operators, and some enterprise buyers kept ordering, pushing the market out of balance and driving prices sharply higher. In some cases, DDR4 has reportedly become more expensive than equivalent DDR5 parts. But I digress.

Samsung’s response is largely pragmatic. DDR4 is a mature product with stable yields and relatively low production risk. With prices elevated, it has become a reliable profit source at a time when newer memory products are seeing uneven returns. Rather than fully shutting down DDR4 lines, Samsung is extending limited production to serve customers willing to make firm commitments.

Those commitments reportedly come through NCNR agreements, short for non-cancellable, non-returnable contracts, as reported by DigiTimes. The contracts lock in pricing and volumes for extended periods, reducing Samsung’s exposure to future demand swings. For customers, they secure supply in a market where availability remains tight. The tradeoff is clear. Once signed, the buyer has little flexibility if pricing later softens. But it’s one of the safest bets in the current market situation.

Moreover, Samsung is not restarting dismantled fabs or broadly ramping DDR4 RAM output. Most of the remaining capacity is expected to go to server deployments, automotive applications, and Samsung’s internal use. Retail availability remains constrained, and pricing is unlikely to ease in the near term.