Raspberry Pi’s memory stockpile powers record half-year as industrial demand surges

Raspberry Pi has posted record first-half revenue and profit after stockpiling memory chips helped it meet surging industrial demand and protect margins.

Raspberry Pi has reported the strongest half-year results in its history, with demand from industrial customers and resellers driving a sharp improvement in revenue, profit and shipments. The Cambridge-based maker of low-cost single-board computers said the six months to 30 June 2026 delivered record sales and adjusted earnings, while also leaving it confident that full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will come in ahead of market expectations.

According to the company’s unaudited interim results, revenue rose to $256.9 million, up 90% from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $40.3 million. Profit before tax climbed 216% to $19.6 million. Unit shipments increased 17% to 4.2 million, and the order backlog doubled to 2.6 million units, underscoring the scale of demand from OEMs and distributors. Raspberry Pi also said gross margin slipped only slightly, to 23%, despite a difficult supply backdrop.

A central factor in the performance was the company’s decision to build inventory of memory chips ahead of the latest surge in DRAM prices. Raspberry Pi said it expanded its memory supplier base from two partners to seven over the past 18 months in an effort to manage shortages and reduce dependence on any single source. That stockpiling allowed it to keep products available and protect margins even as global demand for memory was distorted by data-centre and artificial intelligence customers absorbing supply.

The company now says second-half unit volumes should exceed first-half levels, supported by its enlarged backlog and higher production capacity. It added that it has sufficient memory on hand and on order to meet its 2026 manufacturing requirements, with supplies extending into early 2027. Even so, management acknowledged that the unusually favourable economics seen in the first half will ease as lower-cost inventory is worked through, a reminder that margins may not remain as elevated as the market conditions shift.

Raspberry Pi’s growth has increasingly come from industrial and embedded applications rather than the hobbyist market that first made the brand famous. OEM customers now use its boards in factory systems, digital displays, kiosks and other long-life products, where software compatibility and product availability matter as much as headline price. That business mix has helped give the group some pricing power, even after it passed through higher memory costs to customers.

The results also point to a broader shift in the company’s strategy. Raspberry Pi has been widening its role in industrial computing while continuing to develop new silicon of its own, having taped out its next-generation semiconductor product during the second half. If the new chip performs as planned, it should give the group greater control over cost and performance in future releases. For now, investors will be watching whether the company can sustain demand, manage memory inflation and convert its enlarged backlog into shipments through the rest of 2026.

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