Raspberry Pi raises profit forecast as AI demand drives sales but pushes DRAM costs higher

Raspberry Pi Delivers Strong First-Half Results Driven by AI Demand

Raspberry Pi announced on Friday that it expects adjusted earnings of at least $38 million for the first half of 2026, with unit shipments exceeding 4 million for the six months ending June 30 1

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. The Cambridge-based single-board computing company now anticipates its full-year profit forecast will come in significantly ahead of market expectations, which had originally pegged annual earnings at roughly $42 million 1

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. The strong first-half results reflect robust demand for its products, higher average selling prices, and the benefit of lower-cost memory inventory purchased earlier 1

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. Investors responded enthusiastically to the trading update, pushing the share price up nearly 20 percent and more than tripling the firm's value since January 1

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AI Gold Rush Fuels Demand for AI-Powered Devices

The AI gold rush is proving exceptionally good for Raspberry Pi's bottom line as the credit card-sized computers are increasingly being used to create AI-powered devices, offering a cheaper alternative to more specialised hardware 1

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. Enthusiasts have begun using the low-cost computer maker's machines to host AI assistants such as OpenClaw 2

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. The company's devices, which are the most widely sold computers by a UK firm and popular with people who programme as a hobby, are now finding new applications in the rapidly expanding AI sector 2

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. This shift demonstrates how AI demand extends beyond datacenter operators to affect even makers of compact, affordable computing hardware 1

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Strategic Memory Purchases Amid Supply Chain Issues

Despite the positive financial outlook, Raspberry Pi warned that pricing and availability of DRAM and non-volatile memory remain challenging, a familiar complaint across the industry as AI infrastructure builders continue vacuuming up components 1

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. To ensure it meets production targets, the company said it intends to make strategic memory purchases and will appropriately utilize its debt facilities throughout the year 1

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. The firm increasingly looks less like a hobbyist hardware vendor and more like a company navigating the same semiconductor supply chain issues as much larger technology firms 1

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. Earlier this year, it raised prices on some products as memory costs climbed, while executives have repeatedly pointed to component availability as a key business risk 1

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Higher Component Costs Expected to Moderate Margins

Raspberry Pi acknowledged that first-half profitability benefited from lower-cost DRAM inventory acquired before memory prices moved higher 1

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. As that memory chip inventory is consumed, margins are expected to moderate during the second half of the year 1

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. Management seems willing to sacrifice some profitability to secure supply amid an unprecedented scarcity driven by surging AI demand 1

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. The company has raised prices several times for many of its products over the past few months after a global shortage of memory chips, driven in part by demand from AI data centres, pushed up higher component costs 2

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. Still, Raspberry Pi has a problem that many hardware vendors would happily take: customers are still buying enough boards to keep the memory buyers busy 1

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