Samsung Q3 Operating Profit Tops 100 Trillion Won for First Time, Driven by AI Memory Demand
Samsung Electronics released preliminary third-quarter results on October 8, posting an operating profit of 107.4 trillion won (about $80.17 billion) for July-September, up 782% from 12.17 trillion won a year earlier. The figure surpassed the 100 trillion won mark for the first time in the company's history and marked a fourth consecutive quarterly record. Revenue rose 127% year-on-year to 195 trillion won, beating market expectations and making Samsung the first Korean company to exceed 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit.
The company attributed the surge to robust demand for memory chips driven by artificial intelligence applications. Tight supply of conventional DRAM and NAND chips, combined with strong demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used to process massive AI workloads, pushed memory prices sharply higher. Analysts estimate Samsung's HBM shipments grew nearly 50% quarter-over-quarter in Q3.
Industry watchers expect supply to continue lagging demand through 2027 as AI-related demand absorbs global memory capacity. U.S. rival Micron Technology also reported strong results last week, with net income surging more than tenfold in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026 and expectations of even tighter memory supply in fiscal 2027 and 2028.
The memory boom, however, is pressuring Samsung's other businesses, particularly smartphones and consumer electronics, which face rising component costs. While higher memory prices boost the semiconductor division, they also raise production costs for Samsung's own devices. The company plans to release full results, including segment details, later this month.
