Samsung logo seen at Samsung Electronics Seocho Building in Seoul on July 7, 2026. South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics on July 7 expected second-quarter operating profit to jump about 19 times from a year earlier, supported by sustained demand for AI-driven memory chips. (Photo credit: Jade GAO/AFP via Getty Images)
Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images
Samsung Electronics posted a record second-quarter operating profit, exceeding analysts’ expectations, as strong demand for artificial intelligence continues to drive growth in its memory chip business.
Below is a comparison of Samsung’s first quarter results to the LSEG SmartEstimates. These focus on more consistently accurate analyst forecasts.
Revenue: 171.5 trillion won ($118.7 billion) vs. 172.65 trillion won Operating profit: 89.5 trillion won vs. expected 88.13 trillion won
Samsung shares reversed on Thursday, closing 0.72% lower.
The South Korean tech giant posted a record quarterly operating profit, with sales up 130% and 1,814% year-on-year. Earnings increased more than 56% sequentially and sales increased more than 28%.
Both operating profit and sales were in line with Samsung’s forecasts announced earlier this month.
The company cited AI server demand as the main driver of its record memory revenue, which helped the company’s DRAM and NAND sales reach record highs. These chips are used in a wide range of electronic devices, from smartphones to car systems and servers.
Samsung also said its memory capex increased quarter-over-quarter as it continued to invest in advanced research and development, while expanding investment in a new fab in Pyeongtaek and other infrastructure projects to meet AI demand.
The company said it has expanded HBM4 sales and shipped the industry’s first HBM4E samples to key customers. HBM4 is Samsung’s 6th generation high-bandwidth memory designed to power advanced artificial intelligence processors, including NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform.
demand boom
Samsung said demand for general-purpose computing is growing rapidly alongside AI, and it is closely monitoring the relative pace of demand for HBM and server DRAM while maintaining an optimal product mix to support long-term AI demand.
The company expects industry supply constraints to continue next year and said it will manage its HBM and DRAM businesses in a balanced manner to achieve HBM market share on par with its traditional DRAM business.
The company predicts that in the second half of this year, as the introduction of agent AI spreads, demand for memory, mainly for servers, will be strong, and capital investment in AI infrastructure will continue.
Josh Gilbert, principal analyst for APAC at eToro, said: “AI infrastructure is still paying big amounts to suppliers, and we expect Samsung to do more going forward. We point to strong memory demand in the second half of the year as agent AI further drives demand for its chips.”
Additionally, demand for server DRAM, eSSD, and HBM is expected to accelerate. Enterprise SSDs are high-performance storage devices designed to deliver data quickly and are essential to AI infrastructures.
Samsung said it expects demand to surge in the medium to long term due to the rapid growth of AI token generation, and that it expects supply constraints to become even more severe in 2027. The company said more customers are seeking multi-year supply contracts to secure AI infrastructure capacity, which will allow Samsung to better understand future demand and increase flexibility in investment plans.
The South Korean technology giant added that it has reached final agreements with the world’s top five data center customers and is in the final stages of negotiations with five additional key accounts to support AI-related demands.
Despite recent media reports about a possible U.S. listing, Samsung said it is “not considering issuing ADRs at this time.” The company added that ADR remains “one of several possible options for consideration” from a medium- to long-term shareholder value perspective.
Samsung last week announced its latest product lineup with new foldable smartphones, along with the announcement of an expanded strategic partnership with Broadcom in memory and foundry technology.
“The strength of the memory business is noteworthy, but so is Samsung’s dependence on the memory business,” Gilbert said, noting that the mobile and network business is tipped for a 700 billion won loss, weighed down by the very component prices that drive the semiconductor boom.
Although sales increased year-on-year due to strong sales of the Galaxy S26 series and strong momentum of the Galaxy A series, the company attributed the decline to upward pressure on component costs.
The company recently established a robotics division under the direct supervision of its CEO and said it sees robotics as a key growth area alongside AI and is exploring the possibility of partnering with startups and investing in M&A to accelerate its strategy.
Samsung’s domestic rival SK Hynix on Wednesday announced another record high in second-quarter profit, although it fell short of analysts’ expectations.
