--- title: "Canon will raise camera prices in 2027 after memory costs cut its operating margin by 5 points" description: "The camera maker told analysts it will raise prices from 2027 after memory costs cut its margin by about five points. AI data centers are outbidding it for the same chips, and buyers are set to pay the difference." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-11-06T14:13:29.225Z modified: 2026-11-06T14:13:29.225Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/canon-will-raise-camera-prices-in-2027-after-memory-costs-cut-its-operating-margin-by-5-points language: en keywords: "Canon, Memory, Cameras, AI Data Centers, Consumer Electronics" --- # Canon will raise camera prices in 2027 after memory costs cut its operating margin by 5 points > The camera maker told analysts it will raise prices from 2027 after memory costs cut its margin by about five points. AI data centers are outbidding it for the same chips, and buyers are set to pay the difference. ## Canon picks pass-through over a margin bleed [Canon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/canon), the world's largest camera maker, [told analysts at its third-quarter 2026 results question-and-answer session](https://phototradewire.com/articles/canon-confirms-camera-price-increases-as-costs-bite) that it will raise prices from next year onward to absorb rising component and material costs, first reported on November 3, 2026 [1]. The move is not new for Canon: it already lifted prices on some products earlier this year and said then it would keep weighing the hit to sales volumes [2]. ## Five margin points, and memory is named The damage behind the decision is concrete. Canon said its operating profit margin deteriorated by roughly five percentage points, partly on higher memory prices and the Middle East situation, and that it has not yet fully passed those expenses on to customers [1]. Memory and raw-material prices staying high are flagged as a negative factor for all of 2027, with a full-year impact [1]. The fuller-year arithmetic is already on the tape: on October 27 Canon [cut its operating profit forecast for the year ending December 2026](https://note.com/kabu_times/n/n8793087e8f46) from 465 billion yen to 456 billion yen, widened the sales impact of its delayed medical production recovery from about 45 billion yen to about 90 billion yen, and the stock fell 6.0% the next day [3]. ## The counterparty is an AI data center The buyer outbidding Canon is not a camera rival. [Conventional DRAM contract prices jumped roughly 90% to 95% in the first quarter of 2026](https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/14/as-ai-devours-memory-chips-the-companies-that-make/), with NAND flash up 55% to 60%, as the three makers controlling more than 95% of DRAM output steer wafers toward high-bandwidth memory for AI [4]. ![A Crucial 32GB DDR4-2666 server memory module by Micron, front view](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/88b8d0a9caaf02ba.jpg) *Conventional DRAM contract prices jumped roughly 90% to 95% in the first quarter of 2026, as the three makers controlling more than 95% of output steer wafers toward memory for AI data centers. (ITEagle Europe - Sebastiaan Broekhoven / Wikimedia Commons)* AI server applications now [consume more than 40% of total NAND output and more than 70% of the most advanced tiers](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/camera-backorder-crisis-ai-data-center-memory-demand-stalls-nearly-half-of-2026-launches/ar-AA2gHRAR), bought at 60% to 80% gross margins against the 20% to 40% consumer memory pays [5]. Canon's own briefing ties a printed-circuit-board shortage, running since August, to expanding AI-related demand [3]. *Chart: **Memory-hungry full-frame camera shipments fell 19.8% while compacts grew 15.3%** Bar chart showing year-over-year unit shipment changes for January to August 2026: full-frame interchangeable-lens cameras down 19.8%, all interchangeable-lens cameras down 9.3%, compact cameras up 15.3%, with the full-frame bar highlighted.* *Year-over-year change in CIPA unit shipments, January to August 2026. Full-frame interchangeable-lens cameras need the most NAND for burst buffers and video; compacts need the least. Source: CIPA data as reported by Tech Times [5]. [5]* ## Full-frame feels the shortage first The squeeze shows up in the product mix, not just the ledger: Japanese industry data for January through August 2026 counts full-frame interchangeable-lens shipments down 19.8% and total interchangeable-lens units down 9.3%, while low-memory compacts grew 15.3% [5]. Rivals are already repricing, with Fujifilm raising European camera prices 6.3% to 11.1% in September and select Japanese models by up to 23% in October [5]. [Trade press counts Canon's own interchangeable-lens camera sales down 16% in the third quarter](https://cameradecision.com/blog/Canon-Sold-16-Percent-Fewer-Interchangeable-Lens-Cameras-in-Q3-and-Says-Memory-Costs-Could-Raise-Prices-in-2027) [6]. ## The bull case has receipts too The strongest opposing view is that Canon is bleeding from allocation, not from customers walking. Its imaging segment grew operating profit 33.2% in January to September, and management calls the revised outlook a "minimum target to achieve" [3]. Canon [says it has already secured its memory needs for 2026](https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/canon-warns-camera-prices-could-rise-in-2027-if-memory-costs-remain-high/), so the squeeze is priced into 2027 rather than today [2]. ## What decides it in 2027 Canon's full-year report, expected early next year, should show how much of the 2027 cost wave it plans to pass through [2]. The near-term tell is the fourth quarter: 128.3 billion yen of operating profit is required to hit the 456 billion yen forecast [3]. Five margin points is the ask. Whether camera buyers hold their ground is the answer. ## Takeaway Canon will raise camera prices from 2027 to pass through memory and material costs that cut its operating margin by about five points, after AI data centers drove conventional DRAM contract prices up roughly 90% in the first quarter. ## Sources 1. [Photo Trade Wire, "Canon Confirms Camera Price Increases From 2027" (3 November 2026, as collected 6 November 2026)](https://phototradewire.com/articles/canon-confirms-camera-price-increases-as-costs-bite) 2. [Imaging Resource, "Canon Warns Camera Prices Could Rise in 2027 if Memory Costs Remain High" (2 November 2026)](https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/canon-warns-camera-prices-could-rise-in-2027-if-memory-costs-remain-high/) 3. [Kabu Times on note.com, "[Canon] (7751) Full-year operating profit forecast revised downward to 456 billion yen" (1 November 2026)](https://note.com/kabu_times/n/n8793087e8f46) 4. [The Motley Fool, "As AI Devours Memory Chips, the Companies That Make Them Hold the Pricing Power" (14 October 2026)](https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/14/as-ai-devours-memory-chips-the-companies-that-make/) 5. [Tech Times via MSN, "Camera Backorder Crisis: AI Data-Center Memory Demand Stalls Nearly Half of 2026 Launches" (3 November 2026)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/camera-backorder-crisis-ai-data-center-memory-demand-stalls-nearly-half-of-2026-launches/ar-AA2gHRAR) 6. [CameraDecision, "Canon Sold 16% Fewer Interchangeable-Lens Cameras in Q3, and Says Memory Costs Could Raise Prices in 2027" (as collected 6 November 2026)](https://cameradecision.com/blog/Canon-Sold-16-Percent-Fewer-Interchangeable-Lens-Cameras-in-Q3-and-Says-Memory-Costs-Could-Raise-Prices-in-2027) --- Canon will raise camera prices in 2027 after memory costs cut its operating margin by 5 points — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/canon-will-raise-camera-prices-in-2027-after-memory-costs-cut-its-operating-margin-by-5-points