Samsung forecasts 19-fold jump in Q2 operating profit to record 89.4 trillion won on AI memory boom
The South Korean tech giant's preliminary second-quarter operating profit reached 89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion), beating analyst estimates and marking a third straight record quarter as memory chip prices surge on AI demand.
Record profit and revenue
Samsung Electronics projected second-quarter operating profit of 89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion) on Tuesday, a 19-fold increase from 4.7 trillion won a year earlier. The preliminary figure exceeded the LSEG SmartEstimate of 87.3 trillion won. Revenue likely rose 129 percent to 171 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing. The guidance marks a third consecutive quarter of record operating profit for the world's largest memory chipmaker. Samsung's shares have risen 165 percent this year, lifting its market capitalisation above $1 trillion.
- Q2 2025
- 4.7 trillion won
- Q2 2026
- 89.4 trillion won
AI demand drives chip prices
Memory chip prices have climbed sharply as data centre operators expand AI infrastructure. Citi Research estimated DRAM contract prices rose about 44 percent quarter-on-quarter, while NAND flash prices increased roughly 53 percent. High-bandwidth memory, used in AI accelerators, remains the most profitable segment, but standard DRAM and NAND are also seeing price gains as AI workloads spread beyond training clusters into inference servers. Analysts expect the supply shortage to persist into next year.
Supply constraints hit consumer devices
Manufacturers have largely reallocated existing capacity toward AI memory rather than adding new lines, which is constraining chip supply for phones and laptops. Apple recently felt the pressure when it adjusted pricing on the Mac mini, according to one report. The broader adoption of AI agents that can perform tasks autonomously is expected to sustain strong memory demand, while the focus on high-margin HBM products limits conventional chip output.
