Samsung Electronics second-quarter operating profit beats estimates on soaring AI chip demand

Here are Samsung’s first-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

• Revenue: 171.5 trillion won vs. 172.65 trillion won expected 
• Operating profit: 89.5 trillion won vs. 88.13 trillion won expected

Shares of Samsung were trading up 1.6% early Thursday.

The South Korean tech giant posted a record second-quarter operating profit, up 1,814% year on year, while revenue rose 130%. Profit jumped over 56% from the previous quarter, while revenue climbed more than 28%.

Both operating profit and revenue were in line with Samsung’s forecast released earlier this month.

The company cited proactively addressing AI server demand as the key driver for its record-breaking memory earnings, which helped its achieve all-time high DRAM and NAND sales. The company said it scaled up HBM4 sales and shipped industry’s first HBM4E samples to major customers.

For the second half of the year, the company expects robust demand for memory centered on servers and continuing AI infrastructure capex amid a broader adoption of agentic AI. It also expects to see a growth in demand for server DRAM, eSSDs, and HMB, accelerating.

Samsung last week unveiled its latest product lineup featuring new foldable smartphones, alongside an announcement of an expanded strategic collaboration with Broadcom across memory and foundry technologies.

Its domestic rival SK Hynix reported another record second-quarter profit on Wednesday, though it missed analysts’ estimates, sending its shares down nearly 10%.