A recent news item seems to suggest that Samsung has a vertical relationship problem with its own subsidiaries. Part of Samsung's highly diversified product offerings is that it produces both memory chips and the mobile phones that use them. Samsung's mobile phone division had hoped to nail down pricing and supply for another year, but
... according to a report from SE Daily spotted by SamMobile, is that Samsung Semiconductor rejected the original order for smartphone DRAM chips from Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Experience division.
It appears that demand for memory chips for AI applications is so high that prices have skyrocketed and most chip makers are diverting production to these customers. As a profit center, the internal transfer price just isn't worth it for Samsung Semiconductor. Since the optimal transfer price should be the opportunity cost of its chips, the rejection of this order could be appropriate. This situation may be temporary until either the AI demand subside or chip production capacity can be increased.
