RAM prices have exploded for HP, now accounting for 35 percent of the bill of materials for its PCs - up from just 15-18 percent in the previous quarter. HP CFO Karen Parkhill revealed this dramatic increase during the company's Q1 2026 earnings call, warning that memory costs have jumped roughly 100 percent sequentially and could rise further.

This memory shortage is hitting HP's bottom line hard as the company expects the total addressable market for its Personal Systems business to decline by double digits this calendar year. Higher prices are already hurting customer demand, forcing HP to explore multiple strategies to protect profits. The company has raised PC prices and is promoting configurations with lower RAM specifications to stretch its limited memory supply.

HP is also diversifying its supplier base, cutting material qualification times in half, and using AI-driven planning to reduce logistics costs. While the company reported 11 percent year-over-year revenue growth in its Personal Systems business, reaching $10.3 billion, executives warned that the RAM shortage will likely persist through fiscal 2026 and into 2027, forcing continued price increases and specification changes across the PC industry.