Samsung Electronics reported a preliminary operating profit of 89.4 trillion won (approximately $58.4 billion) for the April-June quarter, a more than 19-fold increase year-on-year that set a new all-time corporate record. The result beat the 84.4 trillion won consensus compiled by FnGuide and marks the third consecutive quarter of record operating profit for the South Korean conglomerate. Preliminary revenue for the period came in at 171 trillion won, up 129.3% from the same quarter a year earlier, though that figure fell short of analyst forecasts of 173.3 trillion won. The year-on-year comparison was set against a low base of 4.7 trillion won in operating profit in Q2 2025. Samsung did not provide a divisional breakdown alongside the preliminary release and is scheduled to publish full earnings later this month.
The result was driven by strong demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in artificial intelligence data centres, with demand for semiconductors continuing to outstrip supply and pushing up prices [Source: BBC Business]. Average selling prices for DRAM and NAND rose approximately 44% and 53% quarter-on-quarter respectively in Q2 2026, according to Citi Research. The memory shortage has contributed to significant share price gains across the sector year-to-date: Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) has risen 158%, SK Hynix (000660.KS) 273%, and Micron Technology (MU) 242%. Tech shares also moved ahead of Samsung's earnings release.
One earnings risk flagged ahead of the print centred on a wage agreement reached in late May, under which Samsung allocated 10.5% of the semiconductor division's operating profit to special bonuses for chip employees. Analysts had warned the Q2 figure could fall short of consensus if the associated provision came in larger than expected; the preliminary print ultimately exceeded the FnGuide consensus.
Samsung is a major supplier of memory chips to leading technology companies including Nvidia, Google and Apple. In April, the company announced it had signed multi-year binding contracts with customers seeking to lock in memory supply, though it did not disclose customer identities or contract terms. Samsung also crossed $1 trillion in market capitalisation earlier in 2026. Last week, Samsung and SK Hynix jointly committed to investing 3,200 trillion Korean won (approximately $2.07 trillion) to expand chip production capacity in South Korea, with Samsung planning to complete its portion between 2026 and 2040. SK Hynix is separately scheduled to list American depositary receipts on Nasdaq under the ticker 'SKHY' on 10 July, with the offering aiming to raise approximately $29.4 billion.
JPMorgan noted that many investors have questioned whether AI memory's rapidly rising share of cloud service providers' capital expenditure — estimated at 52% this year and expected to exceed 70% next year — would prove sustainable [Source: New Straits Times].
Sources: Bloomberg, BBC Business, Korea JoongAng Daily, New Straits Times, Reuters, The Next Web