Samsung record profit tops 107 trillion won but misses on net
Samsung confirmed the first 100 trillion won operating quarter by any tech company and approved a 30 trillion won dividend, but net profit trailed forecasts and the Kospi fell more than 2%.
The memory boom has produced another eye-watering number. The Samsung record profit confirmed on Thursday puts third-quarter operating profit at 107.44 trillion won, which the company says makes it the first tech firm anywhere to clear 100 trillion won in a single quarter.
What happened
Revenue rose 126.9% from a year earlier to 195.25 trillion won, and operating profit jumped 783.1%, according to a regulatory filing cited by Yonhap. Against the second quarter, sales grew 13.9% and operating profit 20.1%, the Korea Herald reported. The figures confirm the preliminary guidance Samsung issued on Oct. 8.
Almost all of it came from chips. The Device Solutions division booked 147.1 trillion won in revenue and 106.5 trillion won in operating profit, Samsung said, with the memory business setting new highs as it sold more HBM4 and server SSDs to AI customers. The phone and appliance side, Device eXperience, posted an operating loss of 0.8 trillion won.
Net profit was 75.13 trillion won, up 514.6%, but short of the 87.01 trillion won average analyst estimate compiled by Yonhap Infomax. Directors also signed off on a 30 trillion won cash payout, due Nov. 27, which counts toward the 90 trillion to 110 trillion won return program Samsung unveiled in August.
Other units were mixed. Samsung Display earned 1.1 trillion won of operating profit on 8.0 trillion won of revenue, while the mobile and networks businesses lost 0.6 trillion won on revenue of 37.7 trillion won despite new foldable launches. Samsung and five affiliates have also committed $1 billion to KKR-backed Helix Digital Infrastructure, and the company led a funding round for French AI startup Mistral, CNBC reported.
Why it matters
The numbers confirm that memory makers are the biggest winners of the AI capex race, a day after SK hynix earnings set their own record. Samsung said it expects AI-driven demand in 2027 to "far exceed" industry supply, and it plans to lock in multi-year contracts. Its foundry arm also gained from HBM base-die sales and 2nm orders from hyperscalers.
Markets were less impressed. The Kospi fell 2.14% on Thursday and the Kosdaq lost 2.75%, CNBC reported, as U.S. futures slipped while investors digested hyperscaler earnings. The index's run has drawn caution before, as in Goldman's Kospi target cut. The Samsung record profit was broadly in line with operating estimates, which left little room for upside.
What's next
For the fourth quarter, Samsung expects continued AI infrastructure investment and more HBM, server DRAM and SSD sales, and its foundry unit is targeting double-digit revenue growth. Its new fab in Taylor, Texas, is due to start operating in 2027. Investors will now look to Samsung record profit in the fourth quarter and to how much of the windfall flows back to shareholders. Full details are in Samsung's earnings release.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.