IT之家 · IT业界 · 10/8/2026, 13:51:34
Samsung Q3 Profit Hits Record on AI-Driven HBM Demand; Foundry Still Loss-Making
Samsung Electronics projects a record Q3 operating profit of 107.4 trillion KRW, becoming the first global tech company to surpass the 100 trillion mark, driven by surging prices for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and conventional storage chips amid the AI boom. While memory margins hit all-time highs, the foundry division remains loss-making due to low utilization, and mobile operations suffered over $1 billion in losses from rising component costs.
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October 8 — According to a Reuters report today (the 8th), Samsung Electronics is expected to surpass quarterly profits of 100 trillion won (IT Home note: approximately 495.8 billion RMB at current exchange rates), becoming the first global tech company to break this milestone.
Strong demand for AI chips has driven sales of memory chips, with third-quarter profits projected to increase nearly ninefold year-over-year. As the world’s largest memory chip manufacturer, Samsung expects operating profit from July to September to reach 107.4 trillion won (approximately 532.489 billion RMB at current exchange rates), slightly exceeding the 106.1 trillion won (approximately 526.044 billion RMB) forecast by London Stock Exchange Group’s SmartEstimate.
News of potentially record-high profits failed to significantly boost Samsung’s stock price, which fell 0.2% in early trading, while the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 0.5% over the same period. Market concerns that the AI boom may not be sustainable have weighed on sentiment; Samsung shares are down more than 25% from their historical high set in June.
Memory chip prices have been rising continuously for over a year. As the world’s leading memory chip manufacturers, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—the "Big Three"—have all seen their profit margins hit historic highs. Investors are closely watching for signs that the price surge is beginning to moderate.
Samsung projects third-quarter revenue to grow 127% year-over-year, reaching 195 trillion won (approximately 966.81 billion RMB at current exchange rates). The company is scheduled to release its detailed earnings report on October 29, disclosing profitability across its various business divisions.
Profit growth is primarily attributed to the memory chip business. Tight supply of conventional DRAM and NAND flash, coupled with growing demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), has jointly driven prices soaring. HBM plays an indispensable role in AI applications, which require processing massive volumes of data.
However, the boom in the memory chip market has also put pressure on Samsung’s other businesses, particularly the smartphone and consumer electronics divisions, where rising component costs are creating increasing strain.
Analysts indicate that Samsung’s mobile division suffered losses exceeding $1 billion (approximately 6.712 billion RMB at current exchange rates) in the third quarter, worse than anticipated.
The foundry business is also expected to continue posting losses. Analysts cite heavy fixed cost burdens and still-low capacity utilization as the primary constraints. Nevertheless, strengthening demand for advanced process nodes is expected to drive a recovery in capacity utilization over the coming quarters. Samsung has consistently aimed to narrow the gap with TSMC in the advanced node foundry sector.
Investors noted that details regarding Samsung’s shareholder return policies will also be a key focus during the earnings call later this month.