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Samsung forecasts record $80B quarterly profit on AI memory boom

Samsung Electronics expects record third-quarter operating profit of 107.4 trillion won, about $80.17 billion, on AI-driven memory chip demand.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-08 11:47

Revenue is expected to rise 127% from a year earlier to 195 trillion won, which would also be a company record. Samsung did not provide a detailed breakdown and plans to release its full earnings report on Oct. 29. Most analysts believe its semiconductor business will account for the vast majority of both profit and revenue.

Samsung’s forecast was above analyst estimates. Reuters reported that analysts had expected operating profit of 106.1 trillion won. The projected result would be Samsung’s fourth consecutive quarter of record-breaking operating profit.

The profit surge reflects a global memory chip shortage driven by artificial intelligence. Cloud hyperscalers and enterprises are racing to build AI infrastructure, and memory suppliers including Samsung, Micron Technology Inc. and SK hynix Inc. have not been able to keep pace with demand. Prices for conventional dynamic random-access memory and NAND flash chips have soared because of tight supply, while demand is enormous for high-bandwidth memory chips designed for AI servers, which require large amounts of memory for data processing.

Samsung and other memory chip suppliers expect the favorable conditions to continue throughout 2027 and well into 2028. But Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Yuanta Securities, told Yonhap that the company faces potential pitfalls, including the prospect of more U.S. tariffs on foreign semiconductor firms and rising competition in China. “There were some uncertainties surrounding Samsung’s earnings as analysts cut their estimates, but the results turned out to be better than expected,” Lee said.

Analysts believe memory chip demand will continue to exceed available supply and that the imbalance will get worse before it improves. That could lead to further price increases for consumer electronics products. One factor is that memory makers such as Samsung are devoting more production capacity to HBM chips instead of conventional DRAM because HBM has higher margins. Samsung’s DRAM shipments are expected to remain flat compared with last year, while HBM shipments should rise sharply.

The memory boom has also weighed on Samsung’s other businesses, especially its smartphone unit, which has come under mounting pressure from higher component costs. Samsung has raised asking prices for many smartphone models and other electronic devices, squeezing margins in those businesses.