Low-cost computer maker Raspberry Pi Holdings plc said 2025 profits would be ahead of expectations after a strong second half but flagged uncertainty going into 2026 as the price of memory surged due to suppliers diverting products to artificial intelligence data centres.
The company, which makes single-board products for tech enthusiasts, it expected adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be not less than $45m, up more than a fifth on 2024.
It added that the cost of LPDDR4, a memory used in its products, had increased rapidly in recent months, with some major suppliers now indicating limitations of supply at high densities.
"There is significant uncertainty as to the timing of a return to more normal DRAM pricing and availability," gthe company said in a trading statement on Tuesday.
"We enter 2026 benefiting from substantial inventory buffers, long-standing and growing industrial OEM relationships, which typically account for 70% of our demand, and a number of initiatives intended to optimise the performance of our business in the short and medium-term," said chief executive Eben Upton.
He added that a long-standing approach to managing its supply chain through close relationships with key suppliers, and its maintenance of LPDDR4 inventory buffers, had enabled it to secure a sufficient supply of memory across most LPDDR4-dependent products to meet expected H1 2026 demand.
"In addition, around one-third of the company's core product portfolio by volume either uses no DRAM, or older LPDDR2 DRAM, for which it maintains a separate, substantial inventory buffer. These products are not exposed to DRAM cost increases."
"There is significant uncertainty as to the timing of a return to more normal DRAM pricing and availability. Based on current customer backlogs and inventory levels, the Board is confident that H1 2026 unit shipments will grow versus H1 2025, with profitability in the period in line with board expectations."
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com