Raspberry Pi's decision to stockpile memory in 2025 proved prescient. The company reported record first-half results, with revenue of $256.9 million—up 90% year-on-year—and pre-tax profit of $19.6 million, more than triple the prior year. Shipments reached 4.2 million boards, a 17% increase, while the order backlog doubled to 2.6 million units. CEO Eben Upton credited the strategic inventory for maintaining product availability while smaller competitors struggled to secure allocation.
The stockpile also boosted margins. Gross profit per board climbed from $8 to $12.20, aided by cheaper memory bought in 2025 and price increases on Raspberry Pi products. However, those "exceptional unit economics" have moderated as the low-cost inventory was consumed. By the end of June, the average cost of memory in inventory had risen to $13.30 per GB, up from $3.60 at the end of 2025. The company now holds 8.3 million GB of memory—roughly three months of sales—and has confirmed orders to meet production targets for the rest of 2026.
Not everything went smoothly. Pi Zero sales fell 9% due to packaging congestion at a Taiwanese supplier, leaving about 1 million units on back order. Still, demand for higher-margin boards remained strong: direct sales of Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5 rose 69% and 47%, respectively, with particular interest in 8GB variants. OEM shipments also grew 26%, driven by smart home and aerospace/defense customers. Raspberry Pi expects to ship more units in the second half than the first, despite the ongoing memory squeeze—a testament to the value of buying RAM before everyone needed it. [1]