Samsung projected record Q3 operating profit: About 107.4 trillion won ($80.1 billion), nearly ten times compared to the same quarter last year.
The result is close to all the market’s estimates: Slightly below Bloomberg’s 108.67 trillion won forecast and above LSEG’s 106.1 trillion won guess.
Sales jumped more than twofold YoY (year-over-year): Revenue grabbed 195 trillion won in Q3, compared to 86.06 trillion won in the same quarter last year.
Driven by rising demand for advanced memory chips for AI computers: Samsung and its rivals SK Hynix and Micron are supplying high-bandwidth memory semiconductors.
Increase may be offset by higher costs of components: Samsung’s smartphone and consumer-electronics divisions and a stronger won, which would reduce the value of overseas sales. The final results will be available on October 29.
Samsung Electronics forecasts Q3 operating profit of 107.4 trillion won ($80.17 billion), up nearly nine times over a year ago and the first time a technology company is likely to see quarterly profit above 100 trillion won. The estimate slightly exceeded the LSEG Smart Estimate of 106.1 trillion won and would represent Samsung’s fourth consecutive quarter of record operating profit. Revenue is likely to rise 127% year over year to 195 trillion won, driven by rising demand for AI chips and memory.
Tight supplies of traditional DRAM and NAND chips, coupled with growing demand for high-bandwidth memory, have resulted in higher prices. Samsung and Micron believe the imbalance will persist through 2028, but rising costs, Chinese competition and possible U.S. semiconductor tariffs could hurt long-term profits. Investors are waiting for details on Samsung’s shareholder return policy. The company will report full results on October 29; its shares rose 0.3% in early trading.
Rising AI Demand Lifts Memory Earnings
Memory chips are expected to contribute to most of the earnings growth. Analysts expect that supply will be less than demand, with a possible widening gap in 2027 as AI applications consume an increasing amount of global memory capacity.
With inventory constraints, conventional DRAM bit shipments are expected to remain largely flat, while those of HBM could rise sharply from the previous quarter, driven by strong demand for HBM4, analysts said.
Ali Merchant is a seasoned financial markets professional specializing in technical analysis, treasury & capital markets, trading, research, and fund management. He is Strategic Advisor at Musaffa and Founder of TWT Learning, which provides education, research, and advisory services to fund and hedge managers and family offices. Ali has traded FX, FX options, US stocks & options, indices, commodities, oil and metals futures, and holds a CMT charter with memberships in AAPTA and CMT, US & Canada. He has worked with ABN AMRO, Thomson Reuters/Refinitiv, MAK Allen & Day Capital, and Bridge Information Systems, produced TA reports for Bloomberg and Reuters, and trained 2,000+ market participants across North America, the GCC and Asia.
