Tech & AI
Samsung Electronics books 107.4 trillion won quarterly operating profit, the first above 100 trillion won for a tech company
Record memory earnings on AI server demand lifted Samsung's third-quarter profit, with the chip division supplying almost all of it.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
Samsung Electronics reported record third-quarter results on October 29, with operating profit of 107.4 trillion won (about $80.5 billion) on revenue of 195.3 trillion won. The company said it is the first technology firm to pass 100 trillion won of operating profit in a single quarter. Revenue rose 14% from the previous quarter.
The chip division, which Samsung calls DS, earned 106.5 trillion won of that profit on 147.1 trillion won of revenue, so the rest of the group was roughly break-even. Yahoo Finance, citing Investing.com, put memory sales at 140.7 trillion won and net profit at 75.1 trillion won. Samsung said sales of HBM4, a fast memory stacked beside AI processors, grew sharply, helped by higher prices and tight capacity. The device business, including phones, posted an operating loss.
Samsung spent 29 trillion won on capital investment in the quarter and expects about 84.4 trillion won for 2026. For 2027 it said AI demand for memory should far exceed industry supply, and that its foundry (contract chipmaking) arm expects growth from 4nm and 2nm processes and the start of its Taylor, Texas plant. These are the company's own forecasts.
Why it matters: Samsung's numbers, following SK hynix's, show the AI build-out concentrating profit in memory. Investors will watch whether HBM4 pricing holds as supply grows, how fast capex of this size adds capacity, and whether foundry progress in Texas narrows the gap with TSMC.